Americans Plan Poorly- 72% Do Not Have An Updated Last Will and Testament

A Google Consumer survey by USLegalWills.com suggests that previous surveys may have under-reported the number of Americans without a Will, by not including those who have a Will that is out-of-date. The survey reported that 63% of Americans do not have a Will, showing no real change from 2014. A statistic that was not published before now reveals that am additional 9% of Americans have a Will that is out-of-date. This means that 72% of Americans do not have an up-to-date Last Will and Testament.  The survey revealed that many people have Wills crafted before they were married or had children, meaning, essentially, they have worthless Wills.  

The survey showed a positive relationship between age and the probability of having a Will:

• 18-24: 85% do not have a Will, 10% have an out-of-date Will, and 5% have an up-to-date Will;
• 23-35: 80% do not have a Will, 6% have an out-of-date Will, and 14% have an up-to-date Will;
• 35-44: 67% do not have a Will, 8% have an out-of-date Will, and 25% have an up-to-date Will;
• 45-54: 53% do not have a Will, 11% have an out-of-date Will, and 36% have an up-to-date Will;
• 55-64: 52% do not have a Will, 8% have an out-of-date Will, and 40% have an up-to-date Will;
• 65+: 35% do not have a Will, 15% have an out-of-date Will, and 50% have an up-to-date Will.

When discounting younger adults, only 37% have a Will that reflects their current financial and personal situation.

Shockingly, there is an inverse relationship between income and a person's likelihood to have an updated Will.  Persons with larger incomes are more likely to have a Will that is no longer useful.  The income group least likely to have up-to-date Wills was in the $100,000+ annual income range.  The income group most likely to have up-to-date Wills was in the annual income range of $25,000-$99,999.

There were no significant differences when comparing across gender, region, or urban density.

Graphs of the survey data can be found here.

Source: ABCNewswire, "US SURVEY REVEALS THAT 72% OF AMERICANS DO NOT HAVE AN UP-TO-DATE WILL," last retrieved July 17, 2016.