Legacy spotlight: Meet our Legacy Administration team

Legacies often make up a significant proportion of a charity’s income, and it is crucial that the gifts left by generous donors are protected and managed to their fullest potential. Our Legacy Administration Team is highly experienced in all aspects of legacy management and works tirelessly to ensure cases progress smoothly and income is unlocked promptly. We provide flexible support when in‑house teams are under pressure, whether due to capacity challenges, complex estates, or sudden spikes in workload. Thanks to our hybrid model, we can also draw on the firm’s wider expertise, giving clients access to specialist legal insight whenever it’s needed.

What began around 14 years ago as short‑term support for a single client has grown into an 10‑strong team of dedicated legacy administration specialists. Each team member brings their own expertise, background and energy, enabling us to support charities with everything from routine day-to-day case administration to more complex, sensitive or time-critical matters. We offer a depth and breadth of experience that allows charities to manage their legacy administration with confidence, efficiency and care.

Who we are

Let’s introduce the team:

• Emma Facey – Principal Director
• Nina Sampson – Senior Associate & Legacy Administration Manager
• Anisah Ahmad – Senior Charity Executive
• Andy Salmons – Senior Charity Executive
• Janet Stevenson – Charity Executive
• Rui Duarte – Legacy Executive
• Freya Coombs – Legacy Assistant
• Willow Wood‑Voisey – Legacy Assistant
• Jen Taylor – Consultant
• Guy Rose – Consultant

Collectively, we have worked with a wide range of charities and are exceptionally well placed to step in and pick up matters quickly and start unlocking cases and income without delay.

What we do

Our team supports charities of all shapes and sizes, providing flexible legacy administration support tailored to each organisation's needs. This includes:

• covering short‑term resourcing gaps (such as illness, maternity cover, holidays or recruitment delays).

• working alongside in‑house teams as an integrated extension of their workforce, helping manage caseloads and maintain momentum.

• managing a full portfolio so charities can stay on top of legacy income without disruption or overheads.

We are currently managing more than £175 million in legacy income and have supported organisations dealing with between 50 and over 1,500 legacy cases.

Our work includes:

• Administrative support – setting up cases, logging income, imputing S&F notifications, ensuring all administrative processes remain organised and run smoothly.

• Day‑to‑day case management including communication with executors, family and friends, reviewing and approving Estate Accounts, identifying added value opportunities and proactively driving matters forward to conclusion.

• Senior‑level oversight of complex or contentious matters, including cases where a charity is acting as personal representative.

• Reporting and strengthening internal processes including creating legacy administration processes and strategic management to assist in legacy pipeline forecasting.

• Wider legacy support, including stakeholder engagement, staff training and stewardship where appropriate.

Because workload challenges often arise suddenly, the team can step in quickly – sometimes within days, depending on IT arrangements.

Our proactive legacy management approach focuses on optimising income, increasing cash flow and balancing risk with reputation.

Who we work with

Our team works with many of the UK’s best‑known charities and is currently supporting organisations including National Trust, Donkey Sanctuary, Dogs Trust and MNDA as extensions of their in-house teams on a long-term basis.

We are also supporting charities such as Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, RNID and Freedom from Torture on a fully outsourced basis.

Short term support has included working with Cancer Research UK, PDSA and RAF Benevolent Fund in recent months.

We have built long‑standing relationships across the sector, providing everything from routine administration to full portfolio management.

How it works

We begin by discussing your requirements and existing resource, then tailoring a support package to suit. We provide bespoke quotes, often with several costing options, and generally prefer fixed‑fee arrangements to give you certainty.

Our support is provided over the whole week, and we commit to servicing your caseload whatever may arise, we proactively review and manage matters, unlocking cash and assessing risk as we go. So that means that if all of your files are active in a short period of time, we will put in the time to make sure the cases are dealt with at that time. We recognise that there are often peaks and troughs in workload when it comes to legacies and our team can flex and react to that quickly.

As part of onboarding, the team reviews all files and carries out an audit to assess risk and identify priorities. We also offer ad hoc legacy audits, from full case reviews to process evaluations, delegated authority reviews and guidance on stakeholder engagement.

While all team members are experts in legacy administration, estates are becoming increasingly complex. Where needed, the team draws on Foot Anstey’s wider specialists in contentious and non‑contentious matters, charity law, governance and property – enabling quick escalation for technical or strategic input. This collaborative model ensures consistently high-quality case management and confident handling of even the most challenging estates.

Our style and approach – how we add value

We take time to understand your organisation, sharing sector insights and staying aligned with your priorities. We provide tailored updates and clear, strategic recommendations. With experience across a wide client base, we know how important it is to offer solutions. We consider ourselves troubleshooters – helping you navigate challenges and drive improvements, efficiencies, whilst ensuring we have the donor at the heart of everything we do.

Recognition

The team was named Best Legal Partner to the Legacy Sector at the Smee & Ford Legacy Giving Awards last year. Judges recognised their dedication, depth of knowledge and collaborative approach – very much at the heart of how the team operates.

Innovative thinking

The team is committed to developing practical support for legacy professionals. Two recent initiatives include:

Legacy Recovery Portal

A cost‑effective, efficient way for charities to recover outstanding legacies when progress has stalled.

Find out more here.

Legacy Connect

A series of events bringing together legacy professionals to connect, collaborate and share insights. Hosted across the South West, London and the North West.

Find out more here.

A growing community of expertise

As the legacy sector evolves, so does the team. From two people to a thriving group of 10, we’ve built a supportive community dedicated to helping charities navigate change, maximise legacy income and ensure every gift reaches its full potential.