LEGAL DEPARTMENT
Job Title: / Senior Legacy officer
Reporting to: / Head of Legal Services
Location: / Dogs Trust London Head Office
Revised: / January 2017
Summary
Supporting the Head of Legal Services, you will strive to maximise legacy income through good file management. You will manage a caseload of residuary and reversionary estates, including approval of estate accounts, whilst at the same time building strong relationships with professional contacts and carrying out site visits related to legacy cases.
Duties
  • Managing a caseload of residuary and reversionary legacies and reviewing all estate accounts, to ensure that the charity receives its full entitlement from all bequests and maximising their value wherever possible.
  • Represent and protect the interests of the charity in all correspondence and deal appropriately with legal professionals and members of the public, answering queries as required
  • Ensure that estates are administered in an efficient and timely manner:
  • Scrutinise estate accounts for all legacies and ensure that an estate has been correctly administered to include the allocation of CGT and IHT
  • Record and update all relevant information regarding a legacy on the First Class 4 database
  • Ensure that the charity receives and processes R185E certificates efficiently
  • Assist with administering estates in-house on behalf of the charity and attending off site visits as necessary
  • Report or refer any decisions in relation to legacy casework to Head of Legal Services
  • Keep up to date with current legislation and practice in the field of legacy administration including probate law, charity commission guidance, taxation, ILM best practice and Code of Fundraising practice.
  • Report to the Head of Legal Services on legacy income and progress on particular cases as necessary
  • Assist with financial reports as required
  • Work collaboratively to achieve shared goals
  • Any other reasonable duties

Person Specification
Essential skills
  • Professionally qualified – Solicitor/Accountant/ILM CICLA/STEP or equivalent proven legacy experience
  • Proven significant experience in legacy administration and charitable sector
  • Have the ability to apply required technical and professional expertise to the highest standard and to promote and share best practice
  • Sound knowledge of Wills, Probate and Trust law
  • Experience of managing own caseload
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Highly organised and able to demonstrate ability to prioritise workload
  • Numerate and computer literate
  • Able to demonstrate ability to analyse, make decisions and problem solve
  • Meticulous attention to detail
  • Team working
Desirable skills:
  • Working knowledge of charity law
  • Familiarity with First Class 4 database would be helpful
  • Empathy with the mission of Dogs Trust

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Job Description TemplateDogs Trust/MD/03_08_2015