Only 26% of Americans Have an Estate Plan

What You Need to Know

Working with an advisor is the largest predictor of who has an estate plan, a survey found.
A quarter of respondents said they plan to leave assets for people other than their spouse and children.
Only half of pet owners with an estate plan said they had accounted for their pet via a will or pet trust.

Seven in 10 Americans say estate planning is at least somewhat important, yet only 26% have an estate plan, according to survey results released Tuesday by FreeWill, an online provider of tools for estate planning and charitable giving.

The results showed that working with a financial advisor is the largest variable in whether respondents have an estate plan. Sixty-five percent of those who do so have a plan, compared with 17% who do not.

Those who work with an advisor but do not yet have an estate plan are twice as likely to implement one in the next two years, the survey found. 

“The unfortunate lack of estate planning in this country, despite its widely acknowledged importance, is a growing problem perpetuated by the oldest members of the baby boomer generation having now surpassed the average life expectancy,” Jenny Xia Spradling, co-CEO of FreeWill, said in a statement. “Practically speaking, what that means is that the oft-discussed $84 trillion Great Wealth Transfer is already here.” 

OnePoll conducted the survey in early March among 2,000 U.S. adults.

The survey found that participation in estate planning is correlated with wealth, which is correlated with gender. While only a quarter of respondents overall have an estate plan, more than 50% of those with more than $500,000 in assets have plans in place. 

Male respondents report a greater emphasis on estate planning. Thirty-two percent have an estate plan, compared with 23% of female respondents, and 74% of the former consider estate planning to be at least somewhat important, versus 67% of the latter.

And women who do not already have an estate plan are far less likely than men to complete one in the future, according to the survey.

Evolving Financial Behaviors

Financial behaviors surrounding various forms of giving — both during respondents’ lifetimes and how they define future beneficiaries — are evolving, the survey found.