DSUMF Newsletter August 1, 2025
When we do an estate planning presentation for churches, we often use a quiz to get folks asking questions and talking. Some of those questions address having a will. Every study or survey comes up with a different number:
- Caring.com’s 2025 survey found 24% of Americans with a will – down from 33% in their 2022 survey.
- Trust & Wills 2025 Estate Planning Report finds 31% of Americans with a will, 11% with a trust, and 55% with no estate planning documents at all.
Age is certainly a factor in estate planning preparedness. For example, the Trust & Wills study says that 66% of the Silent Generation (born before 1946) have a will. Only 44% of their Boomer children have followed their example. General procrastination and not wanting to think about death are common reasons for avoiding estate planning.
People who attend our educational sessions are often surprised to learn some things about wills.
- Many do not realize a will in probate is a public document. Anyone – not just a relative – can get a copy of a will.
- Others are surprised to learn that it is perfectly legal for the Personal Representative of an estate – the person chosen to assure that the will’s directives are fulfilled – to be paid.
- Some think that their spouse and children will automatically inherit without a will – which “might” be true or might not. Every state has a slightly different formula for distributing estates that do not have any planning documents.
Estate planning is something we owe to our heirs and to the churches and other nonprofits we care about. It just doesn’t make sense to let the state make the final decisions about where your accumulated assets go.
If this is the first time this month, you’re being reminded about your will, expect to hear more. August is Make-A-Will month. Desert Southwest United Methodist Foundation will gladly come to your church and present our “Where There’s a Will . . . “ program. Do let us know if we can help.
Blessings,
Anne Green
Executive Director
602-798-8202
agreen@dsumf.org