Fifty-nine percent of American adults don’t have a will, according to a survey by the legal Web site, FindLaw (www.findlaw.com).
The survey found that people are more likely to have a will as they get older. Only 11% of people between the ages of 18 and 34 have drawn up a will. Among people 54 and older, nearly three-quarters (71%) have wills. Retirees are also far more likely to have wills than people who are working or are unemployed, according to the August 15, 2001 survey.
Factors such as income and education were not found to be significant factors in predicting whether a person had drawn up a will. Only a third of respondents with children (34%) said they had a will.
The national survey was conducted for FindLaw by the polling firm of Ipsos-Reid Express using a representative sample of 1,000 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3%.
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