The number of new legacies being received by charities has “increased dramatically” this year, according to a membership body.
A report by the Institute of Legacy Management finds the probate backlog had been reduced by “at least 10,000” over the past six months.
The legacy consortium Legacy Foresight said in November that an estimated £900m in legacy fundraising was “caught up in the backlog”.
Earlier this month, Cancer Research UK said it had gone through budgeting rounds where it had taken money out of capital investment because of the delays.
Latest figures show the backlog of probate applications stood at 56,487 in January, down from 67,024 in October.
Matthew Lagden, chief executive of the ILM, said it had been “extremely satisfying” to see month-on-month increases in issued grants.
He said the ILM believes the sector is on target to exceed the record £4bn-worth of legacy income received by charities last year.
“Anecdotally, our member charities tell us that since the beginning of 2024, the number of new legacies being received has increased dramatically, which is great news,” said Lagden.
“This money is vitally important to charities, both in terms of funding capital projects and paying for day-to-day activities.
“Knowing that over the course of this year, millions of pounds worth of legacy income will be released is exactly the boost they need at a time when they are having to dig deeper than ever to keep services running.”
In the six months to January, the number of probate applications was 141,126 with the grants issued during this period totalling 153,770.