Before my younger brother Simon died, he told me how he wanted any remaining money to be distributed. Most of what he left behind came from a pension plan he had agreed with a well-known insurance company. He showed me the policy and confirmed that I was listed as the "sole beneficiary".
At that moment, he probably imagined that it would be pretty straightforward for me to make a successful claim. Little did he know that the process would be painfully slow, difficult and stressful. It took me eight long months to get the money out of them and in the end I think it was the physical letter that I sent to their Customer Services office in Edinburgh that finally got the desired result.
It was a hell of a ride and not one that I ever wanted to take. Anyway, I am pleased to say that nearly all the money has now been distributed according to Simon's wishes. He had told me that he wanted the lion's share to go to what he called "the next generation" - my two children and our brother Paul's three children over in western Ireland. In consequence, all five of them have now received just under £25,000 each to spend or use as they wish.
I am retaining a wad of cash to pay for Simon's gravestone and he also wanted some money to "go to charity". Unfortunately, he never specified which charities so I applied my own judgement and sent equal amounts to The Royal National Lifeboats Institution (RNLI), The Woodland Trust and Dove House Hospice, Hull - where he died.
Of course some people are anti-charity, embracing the myth that any donated money never actually reaches its intended target. It is siphoned off, wasted by administrators or simply stolen. Such tales abound but in my estimation that is nearly all utter nonsense and a convenient excuse for not being charitable.
I was a shop worker for Oxfam for five years and Shirley is currently working in our local "Age Concern" shop. The RNLI saves seafarers' lives while The Woodland Trust plants trees and maintains woodlands and Dove House Hospice provides invaluable end-of-life care. Quite simply, without charitable donations these admirable organisations would not be able to function. So please don't tell me you don't believe in charity because the money gets routinely wasted. If the truth be known, that is pure...
Balderdash, my favorite boardgame!
ReplyDeleteYes charities have to take some of the money just to exist and to put the rest of the money to good work. For those that find this unacceptable, my suggestion is to attempt to do the same thing yourself. You will quickly realize why some of it going to people who run the organization is a good thing, and sometimes desirable!
I give money to charities yearly already and probably enough that it is greatly appreciated. But I look forward to the day when I can increase that amount even more to where it can be significant.
Well I have never played "Balderdash" but I love the word - more powerful than "Nonsense!" I think. Nice to know that you routinely give some of your disposable income to worthy charities.
DeleteI give quite a bit to charity and to my local library, but I check out the organizations on Charity Navigator first if I can. I don't want to donate to places that only give a small fraction of their funds to the cause and spend most of it on admin and telemarketing. For that reason I don't donate to any police or firefighter guilds.
ReplyDeleteWould you please consider donating a very worthy charity? It's the YPHF... Yorkshire Pudding Holiday Fund!
DeleteI think as long as the charitable has a good name you can't go wrong and your three choices are wonderful for all the reasons you list. How sad you had to jump through hoops to get the money, though. It reminds me of dealing with the UK overseas pension dept after my dad died and explaining that no, it wasn't possible to speak with him.
ReplyDeleteHow callous of them to ask such a question.
DeleteDecent end of life care and saving lives at sea should be funded by the kindness of donors? I need to think about that one.
ReplyDeleteThey definitely should NOT be dependent on charitable donations but sadly they ARE.
DeleteSadly, Hospice, which does end of life care and ran their own facility in town where patients could go to live out their final hours/days in peace with a skilled staff, closed down last year due to lack of funding. It was a place I never thought about until my mom utilized their resources. Since then, I have been doing what I can to hopefully get it back open.
DeleteHow terrible that it had to close! I am sure there are many other people in your district who feel the same way as you do about that place. I sense that you have the vision and the organisational skills to bring it back Ed. It would be the best achievement of your life if you did that my friend.
DeleteThanks, Margaret. Charity Navigator is an excellent resourse. Sadly, that 'rumor' is not always balderdash, YP. There are some pretty unscrupulous charities out there.
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly why I said that the accusations were "nearly all utter nonsense".
DeleteYour donation to the hospice reminds me that when my grandfather died back in the mid 80s, mum and her siblings donated a microwave for the use of the staff on the ward where he'd been. By todays standards it seems a very small donation but I remember the thought that went into it.
ReplyDeleteYou've done your job well, Mr Pudding. Time for a pat on the back
The microwave was a great idea. Sadly, I cannot reach behind me sufficiently to give myself a hefty couple of pats. Try it yourself Kylie!
DeleteBeing administrator for an estate is a lot of work and a big headache. Not everything goes as it's supposed to. You've done a good job on this one.
ReplyDeleteIt has been such a relief to reach closure - apart from the installation of the gravestone.
DeletePhew! You persevered with your claiming the inheritance, and finally, it has come through and the next generation benefits. With Frances and Stew's recent house move, that extra money must have come in very handy.
ReplyDeleteI like your choice of charities. Like you, I think (and in some cases, know for sure) that it is not true what many think happens with donations. I support wikimedia (the organisation behind wikipedia) because I use it all the time, both for work and in my free time. I also support a national and a local charity for animal welfare. When I get my annual bonus from work, I give part of that to charity, too.
My Mum and Dad did volunteer work (Mum with children and Dad at a charity shop) once they retired. At the moment, my volunteering is limited as I am still working full time, but the idea is to expand that when I reach retirement in 12 years (or earlier if I should go part-time before that).
It will be great if in a few years you can work out a way to go part time. That should be a facility that all older workers can enjoy as they wind down. But you are still a spring chicken!
DeleteI think charity giving is a bit of a hit and miss affair. I give to where there are terrible wars going on, the human suffering always breaks your heart. But also to animal charities as well as they rescue animals from war strewn places.
ReplyDelete"Oxfam" has always been my "go to" charity.
DeleteThree very worthwhile charities there Mr P . We always support our local Hospice and the RNLI as both are of huge benefit to our local community.
ReplyDeleteMy brother worked aboard boats in The North Sea for ten years and so the RNLI seemed like a suitable charity to pick.
DeleteI always try to help charities when I can. I try to give as often as I can to The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), Kings College Hospital Research, People's Trust for Endangered Species, our local animal sanctuary where we got our pets, and now the local foodbank where I volunteer. I always donate clothes to the British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research shops, plus appeals from Comic Relief or disaster funds. I always think there but for the grace of God go I and am lucky to be well and have a roof over my head, unlike some poor souls. I don't go away on holiday much or have a flash car, so feel I can spare the money for others.
ReplyDeleteYou are a good human being ADDY and I applaud your thoughtful generosity though I realise you were not seeking approbation.
DeleteEstate administration is a thankless duty, thank you for being there for your brother. I have worked for 25 years for non-profits, we struggle to keep the staff paid, that is where 99% of the money goes. Staff that if we didn't pay them, and try to be fair on what we pay them, wouldn't be here to do the work.
ReplyDeleteThose who imagine that charities can only function with unpaid volunteer staff are very naive.
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ReplyDeleteI give to various charities locally, and in particular animal charities who do a superb job while relying totally on donations from the public. Money comes mainly from expats as the Spanish don't (or didn't) believe in giving money away outside the family.
Great Britain has always been a very charitable nation so it makes my blood boil when mean-spirited people lump all charities together - accusing them of hoodwinking the public and what amounts to widespread fraud. It is very far from the truth.
DeleteWhile some "charities" are absolute scams, many, many are not.
ReplyDeleteIn this country I would say that scam charities make up a tiny percentage of the sector.
DeleteMy personal opinion would favour local, visible, charities like the hospice,where one can see the benefits. Unfortunately a number of the big names (and I would include Oxfam amongst these) seem to be far more of an arm of the state now, rather than serving their original purpose.
ReplyDeleteI worked for Oxfam for five years and I do not see the charity that way Will. It continues to do incredible work in various countries and is quick to respond to emergencies such as the recent earthquake in southern Turkey/northern Syria. We are all earthlings and if we only stuck to our immediate neighbourhoods then needy people in faraway countries would suffer even more neglect. That's how I see it anyway and I will support Oxfam until I die.
DeleteI do not doubt that Oxfam may do good work, however my concern is that it should be my choice to decide if I wish to support that work, I do not want my taxes given to any charities in my name. It seems to me that since the Blair era, governments have taken it on themselves to give tax revenue to charities - and none of the tax payers have any choice over whether that may be a charity who's aims that individual may agree with.
DeleteOver 90% of Oxfam's funds come from institutional and public fund raising. In 2021-2022, Oxfam received just £231,000 in assistance from the British government.
DeleteI work for a charity
ReplyDeleteMost of the money goes on wages of staff.,me included
Hospices deserve to receive greater funding from central government. They perform a vital service.
DeleteGlad everything worked out after the awful pension company putting you through the stress and unnecessary waiting YP.
ReplyDeleteWhen ever they needed something from me, I responded that very day but with them it was always at least two weeks - adding to my anxiety.
DeleteMy excuse for not donating to charity is I simply can't afford to. I make it from payday to payday with a bit left over, but if any of the kids need help, that's where my money goes.
ReplyDeleteIf you gave up the booze, the fags and the gambling you'd have plenty of money to give to charities River!
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