Demonstration site: the people, contact details and documents are placeholders. How this demo works

Resources

Facts and figures, with their sources.

Every number we show comes from this list. Each one names where it came from, so you can check it yourself.

How many people have a plan

From published studies and surveys.

32% About 1 in 3 U.S. adults has a will. Source: Caring.com Wills and Estate Planning Survey (2022), as cited in Whitley, Vanselow & Ben, Human Ecology Review 28(2)
About 1 in 3 About 1 in 3 U.S. adults has completed any kind of advance directive (36.7% across 150 studies of 795,909 people). Source: Yadav et al., Health Affairs 36(7), 2017
Not knowing The most common reason people give for not having an advance directive is that they didn't know about them. Source: Rao et al., American Journal of Preventive Medicine 46(1), 2014 (HealthStyles survey, 7,946 adults)
63% Among adults 65 and older, 63% have a written will: 56% at 65 to 74, rising to 77% at 85 and over. Source: Moran (2020), from the Health and Retirement Study 2014
30% vs 86% Among adults 65 and older, 30% of the least wealthy fifth have a will, against 86% of the wealthiest fifth. Source: Moran (2020), from the Health and Retirement Study 2014
70% vs 27% Among adults 65 and older, 70% of non-Hispanic white adults have a will, against 27% of Black and 26% of Hispanic adults. Source: Moran (2020), from the Health and Retirement Study 2014
43% vs 75% Among adults 65 and older, 43% of the least wealthy fifth have a health care proxy or advance directive, against 75% of the wealthiest fifth. Source: Moran (2020), from the Health and Retirement Study 2014

U.S. households

Worked out by us from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, 2022 (1-year).

129.9 million There are 129.9 million households in the United States. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2022 1-year, table B11001
65% About 2 in 3 U.S. households (65.2%) own their home, which is usually the biggest thing a working family leaves behind. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2022 1-year, table B25007
78% Among households headed by someone 65 or older, 78% own their home. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2022 1-year, table B25007
26% About 1 in 4 U.S. households (26%) is raising children under 18. A will is where parents name who would raise them. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2022 1-year, tables B11001 and B11003
34% About 1 in 3 people 15 and older (34.3%) has never married. With no will, the default rules usually send everything to parents, then brothers and sisters. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2022 1-year, table B12001
10.5% About 1 in 10 people 15 and older (10.5%) is divorced, and old beneficiary forms are the most common loose end after a divorce. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2022 1-year, table B12001
5.5% About 1 in 18 people 15 and older (5.5%) is widowed. Documents signed as a couple often still name the spouse who died. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2022 1-year, table B12001
24% In New York, about 1 in 4 of the state's 7.8 million households (23.9%) is raising children under 18. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2022 1-year, tables B11001 and B11003 (New York)

What the rules say

General rules, not advice about your situation. State rules differ; several here are New York's, for comparison; our attorneys advise on Connecticut law.

The form wins On an employer retirement plan, the beneficiary form on file decides who is paid, even over a divorce settlement in which the ex-spouse gave it up. Source: Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont Savings and Investment Plan, 555 U.S. 285 (2009)
Nothing Under the default rules, an unmarried partner inherits nothing, however long you have been together. Only a will or a beneficiary form changes that. Source: State intestacy statutes; Uniform Probate Code §§ 2-102 and 2-103
The will A will is where a parent names who should raise their children if both parents die. Without one, a judge decides. Source: State guardianship statutes, for example New York Domestic Relations Law § 81 and SCPA Article 17
$2,000 Someone on SSI can keep only $2,000 in countable resources, so an inheritance left to them directly can end their benefits. Source: Social Security Administration, SSI resource limits (42 U.S.C. § 1382)
Since July 2024 Since July 19, 2024, New York homeowners can sign a transfer-on-death deed, so the house passes to the person they name without probate. It must be recorded with the county clerk before death. Source: New York Real Property Law § 424
Say it in writing In New York, a health care agent can decide about feeding tubes and IV fluids only if they reasonably know your wishes, which is why the proxy says them out loud. Source: New York Public Health Law § 2982(2)
Two witnesses A New York will must be signed at the end, in front of two witnesses who sign within 30 days of each other. A handwritten will isn't valid except for some service members. Source: New York EPTL §§ 3-2.1 and 3-2.2

How we choose a number

We show a figure only when we can name its source: a Census table we worked from ourselves, a published study, or the text of a law or court decision. Figures we have only seen quoted second-hand stay off this page until we have checked the original. These numbers describe groups of people, not you.

These figures are general information, not legal advice. Ask an attorney about your own situation.