Under the Trustee Act, their statutory duties will include restricted powers of investments unless the will or the power of attorney provides otherwise, and a statutory standard of care. In addition, the fundraiser becomes exposed to personal liability for negligence or improvident actions, such as giving assets away to unnamed beneficiaries instead of selling the assets for fair market value, not paying all debts of the estate, failing to invest monies on a timely basis, making improvident investment decisions, and unnecessarily delaying the sale of property. There may also be a liability for indemnification between co-trustees, to say nothing of liabilities for actions of others if they act outside of their professional area of expertise. There are other duties for attorneys under Powers of Attorney that fundraisers should remember, not the least of which is their duty to explain to the grantor the powers and duties of an attorney. Other responsibilities include a duty to encourage donors to participate in decisions about property matters, and to encourage visits and regular contact between the donor and family members.
Careful planning can avert the above risks in structuring an estate planning program.
Firstly, you can shift the risk away from the fundraiser and the charity by downloading it to professionals whenever possible. Don't store the will Refrain from directing work to a particular lawyer, paying for a portion of legal costs, preparing a will or power of attorney, and providing advice on how to structure disposition clauses in a will or recommendations on how much of the estate should be given to charity. Instead, fundraisers should provide donors with information on why a will and power of attorney are essential, what happens if there is no will or power of attorney, how to complete a basic will guide, the correct legal name of your charity, and sample general bequest clauses for making gifts to a charity. Finally, you can best help your potential donors by recommending that testators complete a detailed estate inventory, retain their own lawyer to prepare the will or power of attorney, obtain the correct name of all charities to be included as beneficiaries, and provide the charity with a copy of the will after it is signed, so that the estate can be monitored. Orangeville, Ontario L9W 2Z5.