Executive Summary
Despite widespread awareness that estate planning matters, the vast majority of Americans remain unprepared. Our analysis of data from multiple national surveys—totaling over 15,000 respondents—reveals a striking disconnect between intention and action.
The data tells a clear story: Americans know they should plan. They intend to plan. But without a forcing function—a diagnosis, a home purchase, a new baby—most never do.
Methodology
This analysis synthesizes data from three major sources:
- • Caring.com 2025 Wills Survey — 2,500+ adults, conducted with YouGov
- • Trust & Will 2025 Report — 10,000 respondents, conducted by WeAreTalker
- • Trust & Will 2026 Report — 5,000 respondents, year-over-year comparison
The Estate Planning Gap
Most Americans have no plan at all. The trend is moving in the wrong direction—will ownership dropped from 33% in 2022 to 24% in 2025.
| Document Type | % Who Have One |
|---|---|
| Will | 24-31% |
| Living Trust | 11-13% |
| Healthcare Directive | ~18% |
| Power of Attorney | ~15% |
| No documents at all | 55% |
This isn't ignorance. 83% of Americans recognize that estate planning is important. They know they should do it. They just... don't.
The Parent Paradox
Perhaps the most troubling finding: only 36% of parents with minor children have a will.
This means nearly two-thirds of American families with kids under 18 have made no legal provision for who raises their children if both parents die. Without a will, these decisions default to a probate court—a judge who has never met your family decides who raises your children.
The Generational Divide
Gen X—the "sandwich generation" caring for both kids and aging parents—is less prepared than expected. They're busy, stretched thin, and estate planning keeps sliding down the priority list.
The Psychology of Delay
When asked why they don't have a will, respondents gave these reasons:
Procrastination is the real enemy. It's not that people think estate planning is unimportant—it's that it never feels urgent. There's always something more pressing.
What Finally Gets People to Act
For those who do create an estate plan, life events are the trigger—not fear campaigns or statistics:
Top triggers for action:
- 1. Buying a home (30%)
- 2. Having a baby or getting married (23%)
- 3. Medical diagnosis or health scare (10%)
- 4. Retirement / milestone birthday
What doesn't work:
- • Statistics about probate costs
- • Fear-based messaging
- • Guilt trips about family
- • National current events (only 8%)
The disconnect is revealing. Urgency comes from life changes, not education campaigns.
The Trust Blind Spot
Here's what most people don't realize: a will doesn't avoid probate.
When you die with a will, your estate still goes through probate court—a public, expensive, time-consuming process. A living trust is the document that actually keeps your affairs private and transfers assets immediately.
Sources
- 1. Caring.com. (2025). 2025 Wills and Estate Planning Study.
- 2. Trust & Will. (2025). 2025 Estate Planning Report.
- 3. Trust & Will. (2026). 2026 Estate Planning Report.
- 4. Brookings Institution. (2022). U.S. births are down again after the COVID baby bust and rebound.