PFS warning on charities offering free 'financial advice'

Laura Miller
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Charities should be wary of offering free ‘financial advice' and will writing services to people in exchange for legacy donations, says the PFS.

Legacies are charities’ largest source of funds and many organisations provide in-house advisers to counsel people on issues such as inheritance tax avoidance through will donations. But there is concern charities are wandering outside their remit by using inadequately qualified advisers, and creating possible conflicts of interest when an organisation set to benefit from a will is also offering financial advice. In a recent case, the friends of Beatrice Southwell, 91, took charity Help the Aged (HtA) to the Principal Probate Registry about changes to a decade old will made shortly be...

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