‘Practical Guidance - Know the answers before you are asked’

With legacy giving on the increase and a new government Philanthropy policy for Ireland, more clients will be asking questions of their solicitors about a more structured approach to their giving – either in their lifetime or in their will.

Philanthropy consultant and Legacy expert, Niall O'Sullivan brings you through the most likely scenarios you will meet as a Solicitor when your clients look for guidance in this space.

This presentation is especially relevant for Solicitors working in Succession, Estate Planning and Wills and Probate more generally.

In this webinar, Niall firstly provides an overview of the charity sector before looking at the range of the donation options available. Some of these are not generally promoted, so an understanding of them will set you apart from other solicitors. Niall also covers how philanthropy differs from charity, and how a small but increasing number of people in Ireland seek to engage in philanthropic activity. This normally requires legal structures to be put in place, and details of each that are relevant in Ireland are provided in this talk.

The second and main part of Niall’s presentation focuses on charitable bequests. The scale, values, and much more are discussed.

Topics Covered Include:

• Charity landscape in Ireland
• Options and tax benefits re donations – with case studies
  • Donations of €250+
  • Gifts of shares
  • Gifts of property
  • Donations to approved sports bodies

• Philanthropy in Ireland
  • Examples of Irish philanthropy
  • Philanthropy structures

• Charitable Bequests / Gifts in Wills
  • Tax and Wills – with case studies
  • Types of charitable bequests and restrictions

• Irish Stats on charitable bequests
  • Who Leaves charitable bequests?
  • Charitable bequest values

• The future – Wealth and Demographics
  • The scale of wealth and wealth transfers – current and future
  • Demographic trends – and impact on will making

• Scale of giving by way of charitable bequest (it might surprise)
  • Why this will increase leading to increased client queries

• When do people make wills?
• The 1% debate
• Solicitor engagement
  • Letter of wishes
  • Don’t promote a charity but you can reference gifts in wills

Speaker

Niall O’Sullivan is founder of Campaign Solutions and FreeWill.ie. He has a degree in Business from DCU and has worked in the philanthropy and fundraising sphere for over 25 years. Having worked for a US consultancy - in Ireland, the UK and USA - he then established the Campaign Solutions business. He is recognised as Ireland’s leading charity expert in the legacy (bequests) space. He also has expertise in advising charities and individuals in relation to philanthropy and fundraising planning. More recently he has undertaken ground-breaking research on legacy-giving in Ireland. His research consortium – Legacy Insights – comprises almost 30 charities – many of which are household names. Its first reports are helping to drive our insights into legacy and feeding into national philanthropy policies being developed by government. In 2023 he also established a new FreeWill.ie – a network for charities and solicitors.

Category of CPD:	Category A (General)
Duration:	1.35 Hours