Reports of the failure of Americans to have their wills properly prepared are frequent. But one survey revealed that we don’t like to do wills because the entire process is daunting. We’re not sure what we need to know, we don’t understand how the process really works, and we are afraid that an attorney will either make us look foolish or not do what they say they will do.
It should not come as a surprise that only 34% of all Americans have created a will. But a survey from Everplans has revealed that we don’t know enough about the process and that is the real issue behind our national reluctance to have our wills done.
The usual reason given for why so many people have not created estate plans is that death is a taboo subject in American culture. People do not want to think about their own deaths and what will happen to their families and property afterwards.
However, only 18% of the respondents to the survey gave that as a reason that they did not have an estate plan. Instead 95% of those without wills cited a lack of information about creating estate plans and services to create them as part of the reason they have not acted.
Fox Business reported on this survey in an article titled “The Sad State of Estate Planning: Why Only 34% Have a Will in Place.”
It is unclear why people think they do not have the information needed to create an estate plan. People are not required to make their own estate plans or draft their own wills. In fact, it is extremely inadvisable to do so. Instead, people should seek out experts who have the information and can do all the required drafting.
And those experts are not hard to find. They exist in all but the smallest, rural communities. They are estate planning attorneys.
If you think that you do not have the information that you need to draft your will, contact an estate planning attorney who will be happy to help you.
Reference: Fox Business (September 28, 2015) “The Sad State of Estate Planning: Why Only 34% Have a Will in Place.”
