Do you have a will? If not, why not?

3 March 2020

If you want to dictate where your assets go when you die, you need a will. Die without one and on top of the grief, it can cause a financial nightmare for the people you care about. A will can be made cheaply, and sometimes for free (see our Cheap Wills guide). So do you have a will and if not, why not?

Please select ALL of the options that apply to you.

Results

**I'm aged under 25 and I DO have a will (25 votes)**

My will is up to date		13 votes (52%)
I have a will but it isn’t up to date		12 votes (48%)

**I'm aged under 25 and I DON'T have a will (203 votes)**

I don’t need one, I’ve nothing to leave		36 votes (18%)
I don’t want to think about dying		12 votes (6%)
It’s too expensive		11 votes (5%)
I don’t really know where to start		45 votes (22%)
Everything will go to my spouse or children anyway		13 votes (6%)
I’m happy to let someone else worry about what happens		4 votes (2%)
I’ve never got round to it		20 votes (10%)
I’m too young to worry about it		58 votes (29%)
Other reason		4 votes (2%)

**I'm aged 25-34 and I DO have a will (88 votes)**

My will is up to date		69 votes (78%)
I have a will but it isn’t up to date		19 votes (22%)

**I'm aged 25-34 and I DON'T have a will (722 votes)**

I don’t need one, I’ve nothing to leave		78 votes (11%)
I don’t want to think about dying		24 votes (3%)
It’s too expensive		54 votes (7%)
I don’t really know where to start		148 votes (20%)
Everything will go to my spouse or children anyway		121 votes (17%)
I’m happy to let someone else worry about what happens		18 votes (2%)
I’ve never got round to it		165 votes (23%)
I’m too young to worry about it		89 votes (12%)
Other reason		25 votes (3%)

**I'm aged 35-49 and I DO have a will (258 votes)**

My will is up to date		188 votes (73%)
I have a will but it isn’t up to date		70 votes (27%)

**I'm aged 35-49 and I DON'T have a will (721 votes)**

I don’t need one, I’ve nothing to leave		38 votes (5%)
I don’t want to think about dying		12 votes (2%)
It’s too expensive		71 votes (10%)
I don’t really know where to start		173 votes (24%)
Everything will go to my spouse or children anyway		133 votes (18%)
I’m happy to let someone else worry about what happens		10 votes (1%)
I’ve never got round to it		240 votes (33%)
I’m too young to worry about it		11 votes (2%)
Other reason		33 votes (5%)

**I'm aged 50-64 and I DO have a will (617 votes)**

My will is up to date		447 votes (72%)
I have a will but it isn’t up to date		170 votes (28%)

**I'm aged 50-64 and I DON'T have a will (557 votes)**

I don’t need one, I’ve nothing to leave		12 votes (2%)
I don’t want to think about dying		21 votes (4%)
It’s too expensive		50 votes (9%)
I don’t really know where to start		116 votes (21%)
Everything will go to my spouse or children anyway		88 votes (16%)
I’m happy to let someone else worry about what happens		7 votes (1%)
I’ve never got round to it		219 votes (39%)
I’m too young to worry about it		4 votes (1%)
Other reason		40 votes (7%)

**I'm aged 65+ and I DO have a will (736 votes)**

My will is up to date		583 votes (79%)
I have a will but it isn’t up to date		153 votes (21%)

**I'm aged 65+ and I DON'T have a will (191 votes)**

I don’t need one, I’ve nothing to leave		10 votes (5%)
I don’t want to think about dying		11 votes (6%)
It’s too expensive		19 votes (10%)
I don’t really know where to start		41 votes (21%)
Everything will go to my spouse or children anyway		34 votes (18%)
I’m happy to let someone else worry about what happens		2 votes (1%)
I’ve never got round to it		63 votes (33%)
I’m too young to worry about it		0 votes (0%)
Other reason		11 votes (6%)

3,415 people have voted.

We try to use technology to limit voting to one per person. Occasionally, this may erroneously block a few people's votes (eg, from shared offices). Apologies for that.

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