According to a recent poll, less people are drafting wills, which shows that as the epidemic wanes, Americans are becoming less concerned about their death.
According to a recent poll, less people are drafting wills, which shows that as the epidemic wanes, Americans are becoming less concerned about their death. (Photo : by Melinda Gimpel / Unsplash)
In 2024, just 32% of respondents said they had a will, compared to 34% in 2023, according to the results of the 2024 Wills and Estate Planning Study conducted by the online elder care platform Caring.com. The number has been gradually rising since 2020.
Around the time of the pandemic's height, when many Americans were confined to their homes and worried about their health, estate planners saw a surge in wills and trusts.
Ruben Gotlieb, a partner and estate planning expert at the law firm Greenspoon Marder, remarked, "We saw an increase during COVID, particularly in the early stages, as individuals became more aware of their own mortality." As the pandemic wanes, however, the focus of Americans has shifted.
Why It's a Bad Thing
A decline in wills may not be good news for the living. According to experts, most people should have an estate plan, particularly if they are parents or have a house. When someone passes away without a will, their loved ones may face a maze of probate issues.
Wills are more common among older Americans. Even yet, a large number of them lack one.
Caring.com reports that in 2024, 43% of persons over 55 had wills, compared to 46% in 2023 and 48% in 2020. The analysis is based on a YouGov poll conducted in December with over 2,400 individuals. The poll adds to an increasing amount of data showing fewer Americans are drafting wills.
A 2023 research from Boston College's Center for Retirement Research shows a continuing fall in the proportion of over-70 families possessing wills or trusts. From 2000 to 2020, that percentage decreased from 73% to 64%.
Researchers discovered that the long-term trend reflects the increasing variety of elderly Americans. More Black or Hispanic seniors than ever before are also less likely than non-Hispanic White seniors to leave a will.
However, population shifts are just one aspect. It appears that people of all races in America find it difficult to find the time, resources, and willpower to draft a will.
According to a Caring.com survey, 43% of Americans without wills attributed their situation to simple delay, while 40% claimed they lacked sufficient assets to warrant estate planning. Some people said that drafting a will was excessively costly or complicated.
Many financial advisors urge Americans to establish a will as part of a bigger estate plan that specifies, among other things, who will manage our affairs in an emergency while we are still living and what happens to our assets when we pass away.
Big concerns like who looks after a child in the event of a death without a will might remain unanswered. Who is going to inherit the family home? It might be difficult to distribute some assets among several heirs.
However, estate preparation is frequently expensive and time-consuming. According to some experts, it's difficult, but needlessly so.
