Can Incentives Increase the Writing of Wills?

Jean-Pierre Aubry, Alicia H. Munnell and Gal Wettstein

Issues in Brief from Center for Retirement Research

Abstract: Writing a will ensures a person’s wealth goes to intended recipients, preventing major assets like a house from being split up among many heirs. Yet many people do not have a will, particularly lower-income and non-White households. Using a survey experiment, the analysis explores whether customer interactions with banks could encourage will-writing. The results show that: combining will-writing with taking out a mortgage – a complex and stressful event – is a bad idea; offering people money helps, but mainly those who need it the least; and linking will-writing to a simpler task, like opening an account, is a much more effective option, especially for disadvantaged groups.

Pages: 8 pages
Date: 2024-04
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