The Scale of the Problem Is Bigger Than Most People Realize
Only about one in four Americans has a last will as of 2025, according to Caring.com’s most recent survey, a sharp drop from roughly one in three just a year earlier. That downward trend is striking, especially at a time when public awareness of estate planning has never been higher.
The most common reasons people give are that it feels low on the to-do list, or that they don’t think they have enough assets to leave anyone. Both of these assumptions tend to crumble the moment something unexpected actually happens.
The share of Americans who consider estate planning somewhat or very important has declined since 2022, and now more than half of respondents don’t have a will at all. The numbers are moving in the wrong direction.
What “Dying Intestate” Actually Means for Your Family
When someone dies without a will, state intestate succession laws decide which relatives inherit and in what shares. Spouses, domestic partners, and blood relatives usually inherit, while unmarried partners, friends, and charities typically receive nothing.
Dying without a will means the state takes control of your estate. Intestacy laws decide who inherits, but those rules rarely match personal wishes. Families are left managing the consequences.
This automatic distribution may not reflect your personal wishes, leaving your estate vulnerable to unintended outcomes. In blended families, long-term unmarried partnerships, or situations where someone is estranged from a relative, the results can be particularly jarring.
Procrastination Is the Leading Cause, Not Cost or Complexity
The research is clear: nearly half of Americans who say they don’t have a will point to simple procrastination as the problem. It’s in the plans, just not right now. Some people don’t see the priority of doing it immediately.
Another large share of respondents reported not having enough assets to justify the process, yet many of them have children whose future care may be left entirely in the hands of a court.
Nearly a quarter of Americans say nothing could ever motivate them to begin estate planning, a number that has held fairly steady over the past three years. Most are not averse to the idea; it simply isn’t a priority. That’s a difficult mindset to shift, and yet the stakes don’t care about priorities.
Your Children’s Guardian Could Be Chosen by a Judge, Not You
If you die without a will, or if your will doesn’t designate a guardian, the court must appoint one for your minor child without your input. The court appoints a guardian based on the “best interest of the child” standard. That standard sounds reassuring until you realize it means a judge who never met your family is making the call.
By formally naming a guardian in a will, you can safeguard your children’s future against unforeseen circumstances. Without a designated guardian, the court may appoint someone who does not align with your parenting philosophy or values.
A judge may potentially have to decide from a list of candidates who will raise the child, without being able to give consideration to the parents’ wishes. If you prefer one person over another to serve as guardian, it is critical that you include this in a valid and enforceable will.
Intestacy Laws Don’t Care About Your Relationships
Every state has intestate succession laws that direct what happens to property when someone dies without a valid will. Generally, only spouses, registered domestic partners, and blood relatives inherit under intestate succession laws; unmarried partners, friends, and charities get nothing.
Relying on default inheritance laws can lead to outcomes you wouldn’t have chosen, especially in blended families or unmarried partnerships. Creating a valid will ensures your property is distributed according to your wishes and can help reduce family disputes and probate delays.
These rules can lead to distributions that the deceased might not have intended, often going to relatives with whom they had little or no contact. That’s not a hypothetical edge case. It happens constantly, and the families left behind are the ones who absorb the cost.
The Middle-Aged Are Most at Risk, Ironically
Surprisingly, the age cohort between 35 and 54, often called the sandwich generation or caretaker cohort, is the largest group without estate planning documents. These are often the same people managing aging parents, raising children, and holding the most financial assets of their lives so far.
Since 2020, the number of young adults aged 18 to 34 with a will has increased by half. During the same period, the rate of middle-aged and older adults with wills actually decreased. Younger generations appear to be picking up the habit while the generation most exposed to risk is quietly stepping back.
Most Americans don’t have a will or a living will until they are in their 70s, though about eight in ten of those aged 80 and older do. By that point, decades of accumulated decisions and relationships may be impossible to sort out cleanly.
The Great Wealth Transfer Makes This Even More Urgent
According to Cerulli Associates, wealth transferred through 2048 will total an estimated $124 trillion, with $105 trillion expected to flow to heirs. Nearly $100 trillion will be transferred from Baby Boomers and older generations, representing more than four-fifths of all transfers. That is the largest intergenerational movement of money in recorded history.
Millennials will be inheriting the most of any generation over the next 25 years, while Gen X stands to inherit the greatest portion of assets in the next decade alone. Without a will in place on the giving side, a substantial share of that transfer will be decided by state law rather than personal intention.
Inheritance has become more common across households, with roughly three in five surveyed households in 2022 having received, expecting to receive, or planning to leave an inheritance. The scale of what’s at stake makes the current estate planning gap genuinely alarming.
Probate Without a Will Is Slower, Costlier, and More Contentious
Probating an estate without a will can be time-consuming and incur high legal and court fees. A lack of clear inheritance instructions can also lead to conflicts among the next generations. Both costs tend to compound each other as the process drags on.
Dying without a will triggers financial consequences that many families don’t anticipate. Court fees for intestate probate typically run several percentage points higher than estates with proper planning. The decedent’s estate often faces unnecessary taxation when valuable assets transfer without strategic planning.
The majority of those who die without a will leave behind no legal instructions, forcing families to navigate probate, delays, and state laws that decide how assets are distributed after death. For grieving families, that process is an added burden at the worst possible time.
Even a Basic Will Does More Than Most People Expect
A common misconception is that valuable assets are needed to justify a will. Every adult can benefit from having one, since even assets with sentimental value should go to the right people. A handmade item, a musical instrument, a car, or a pet can all become sources of family conflict without clear instructions.
If you have minor children, a will allows you to designate a trusted guardian to care for them in the event of your death. A clear, legally binding will can also prevent conflicts among family members over asset distribution, ensuring a smoother transition.
Whether you are married with children or single with no dependents, a will ensures that you, not the state, get to choose what happens to your assets. That level of control is available to anyone, regardless of how large or modest an estate may be.
When to Write a Will: Earlier Than You Think
Americans most commonly say they’d start estate planning after a medical diagnosis or health concern. The second biggest motivator is the purchase of a significant asset, and retirement rounds out the top reasons. All three of these triggers come far later than the actual need.
Family expansion through birth or marriage ranks among the top reasons Americans have created wills and trusts, yet many parents still don’t have plans in place to protect their children if they die. The moment a child enters your life is, by most accounts, the clearest signal that it’s time.
Working with an estate planning attorney, no matter your age, health, or income level, is the best way to protect your future and your family members should something happen to you. The cost of drafting a basic will is almost always smaller than the legal and emotional cost of not having one.
Conclusion: The Will You Don’t Have Is Already Making Decisions for You
Inheritance law doesn’t pause while you get around to things. In the absence of a will, the state has already written one for you, and it was drafted without you, your family, or your relationships in mind. It treats every household the same regardless of how different every household actually is.
The data from 2024 and 2025 tell a consistent story: millions of people who understand the importance of a will still haven’t made one. The reasons are understandable. The consequences are not. A will is not a document about dying. It’s a document about who you are, what you’ve built, and who you trust to carry it forward.
The right time to write one isn’t after a diagnosis or a birthday milestone. It was probably sometime last year, and the second-best time is now.
