You might think that most American adults have already made their will. Sadly, you’d be wrong.
The latest survey from Caring.com shows that the percentage of U.S. adults with a plan is worryingly low. What’s more, it is dropping.
Less than half of adults over 55 have written their will
The survey found that only 43% of adults aged over 55 had a will in place. That’s a 3% drop from 2023 when it was 46% which was itself a 2% drop from 2020 when it was 48%.
The broader picture is even worse
When you look at adults aged 18 upward the picture is far worse. Only 32% of them have a will. Again this figure has dropped since last year.
Do people think making a will is not important?
You might assume people don’t realize how important a will is. However, that does not appear to be the problem. Rather, it is a case of people knowing they need to make one but not prioritizing doing so. They procrastinate, believing they have plenty of years left to get around to it.
Hopefully, that will be the case, but you can never be sure, and if a fatal accident were to happen tomorrow, your family could be left struggling to pick up the pieces, when a will could have made things much simpler for them. Remember, if you die without a will you have no control over how your assets are distributed. It will fall to state intestate laws, and the result could be very different from what you would have wanted.
Estate plans are not particularly hard to make and with legal guidance, it will be even simpler. Taking the hardest step of all and getting started is a move you will not regret.