The Right Way to Read the Percentage of Americans With a Will
Americans with a will: Gallup’s 2021 phone poll found 46%, Caring.com’s 2025 study 24%. Here’s what explains the difference.
In This Article
What percentage of Americans have a will?
The short answer: about 1 in 4 to nearly 1 in 2
The percentage of Americans with a will ranges from 24% to 46%, depending on the survey. Gallup’s telephone poll found 46% in 2021, Caring.com’s online study found 24% in 2025, and Trust & Will found 26% in 2026. Every one of them means most adults have no will.
Parent, renter, or unmarried? See Sections 4–6. Citing a number? See Section 2. Ready to act? Skip to the end.
“No will” is not “no estate documents”
🔍 How It Works: The share without a will is 100% minus the share with one: 54% (Gallup), 76% (Caring.com), 74% (Trust & Will), calculated by our editors. Trust & Will’s separate 56% means no estate documents of five types, not no will.
ℹ️ Financial Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and is not personalized legal, tax, investment, lending, insurance, or debt-relief advice. Wills, intestacy, and probate rules vary by state, so consult an estate-planning attorney licensed in your state, a CPA for tax questions, or a fiduciary advisor before acting.
Will ownership by survey: Gallup, Caring.com, Trust & Will
Three major surveys give three different answers, and the table shows why they aren’t directly comparable.
| Survey | Method | Share with a will | Key Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallup, May 2021 | Phone, 1,016 adults, ±4 points | 46% | Independent pollster |
| Caring.com, 2025 | YouGov poll, 2,500+ adults | 24% | Senior-care referral site |
| Trust & Will, 2026 | Online opt-in (Talker Research), 5,000 adults | 26% | Online will provider |
Source: Gallup (2021); Caring.com’s 2025 wills study; Trust & Will’s 2026 estate planning report.
Gallup (2021): 46%
Earlier Gallup readings back to 1990 ranged from 44% to 51%.
Caring.com (2025): 24%
Caring.com reports will ownership falling from 33% in 2022 to 24% in 2025.
Trust & Will (2026): 26%
Trust & Will reports will ownership falling from 31% in 2025 to 26%.
Why surveys disagree on how many Americans have a will
Four factors likely explain much of the gap between 46% and 24%: survey method, question wording, who sponsored it, and when it was fielded.
Phone poll vs online panel
Gallup phoned a random sample of 1,016 adults, at least 70% by cell phone. Trust & Will’s survey was opt-in online; Caring.com polled through YouGov.
Who paid for the survey and how it was worded
Trust & Will sells wills and Caring.com runs a senior-living referral service, so both have a stake in the topic. Gallup’s question asked about a will describing how you want your money and estate handled.
Is the number really falling?
Trust & Will calls its survey directional, and its 2025 and 2026 samples and questions differed. Two newer surveys show declines; Gallup’s readings stayed between 44% and 51% through 2021.
Who has a will: age, income, and homeownership
Adults 65 and older are the most likely to have a will, at 76%, and adults 18 to 29 the least, at 20% (Gallup, 2021).
By age and income (Gallup, 2021)
| Gallup group | Has a will |
|---|---|
| Age 65+ | 76% |
| Age 50–64 | 53% |
| Age 30–49 | 36% |
| Age 18–29 | 20% |
| Income $100,000 or more | 61% |
| Income under $40,000 | 30% |
Source: Gallup, May 2021.
By homeownership and relationship status (Trust & Will, 2026)
Among Trust & Will’s respondents, 40% of homeowners have a will versus 16% of renters, and 37% of married adults versus 16% of single or casually dating adults. Gen X is the least protected generation: 62% have no estate documents.
Don’t compare figures across surveys: their samples and questions differ.
Top reasons people haven’t made a will
Among adults without a will or trust, the most common reason is believing they don’t own enough to need one. Trust & Will’s 2026 survey ranks the reasons:
- Not enough assets: 27%
- Haven’t gotten around to it: 23%
- Don’t know where to start: 17%
- Too expensive: 15%
“I don’t have enough assets”
Caring.com found parents of children under 18 are the largest group without wills or other estate documents, and a will can name a guardian for minor children.
“I haven’t gotten around to it”
Caring.com found 43% of adults without a will simply haven’t gotten around to it.
“I don’t know where to start”
✅ Action Step: Ask an estate-planning attorney licensed in your state: “What does my state require for a valid will and for naming a guardian?”
What happens if you die without a will?
If you die without a will, your state’s intestacy law, not your wishes, generally decides who inherits.
Intestacy: your state decides
Which relatives inherit, and in what shares, varies by state; who inherits when there is no will shows the typical order.
Unmarried partners and parents of minor children
Trust & Will found 68% of adults in serious or engaged relationships and 50% of parents have no estate documents. Under default rules, unmarried partners and stepchildren often receive nothing.
If you’ve moved states
About 1 in 10 adults no longer live where they made their estate plan, Caring.com found, and inheritance law varies by state.
✅ Action Step: Ask an estate-planning attorney in your state: “Who would inherit under my state’s default rules, and would my partner or stepchildren be included?”
A will isn’t a plan: what the surveys miss
A will isn’t the same as being covered: wills go stale and many assets bypass them.
Outdated wills
Caring.com found nearly 1 in 4 adults with a will haven’t updated it since making it, and Trust & Will found 14% of will and trust holders never have.
Assets a will doesn’t reach
Beneficiary forms, joint ownership, and trusts can override a will; our guide to assets that pass outside your will shows eight common types.
⚠️ Costly Mistake: Signing a new will doesn’t change beneficiary forms, which can still decide who gets an account.
✅ Action Step: Ask an estate-planning attorney: “Does my current will still match my family, assets, and state?”
Common questions about Americans and wills
1. What percentage of Americans have a will?
Between 24% and 46%, depending on the survey: Gallup found 46% in 2021, Caring.com 24% in 2025, and Trust & Will 26% in 2026.
2. How many Americans don’t have a will?
Most adults, by every survey: 54% by Gallup’s 2021 poll, 76% by Caring.com’s 2025 study, and 74% by Trust & Will’s 2026 report.
3. Why don’t most Americans have a will?
Among adults without a will or trust, Trust & Will found 27% say they lack enough assets and 23% haven’t gotten around to it.
4. Why do surveys give different percentages?
Gallup used a random-digit-dial phone poll in 2021; Trust & Will used an opt-in online survey in 2026; methods, wording, and years differ.
5. Which age group is most likely to have a will?
Adults 65 and older, at 76% in Gallup’s 2021 poll, versus 20% of adults under 30 who have a will.
6. Are homeowners more likely to have a will than renters?
Yes in Trust & Will’s 2026 survey: 40% of homeowners have a will versus 16% of renters.
7. Is the percentage of Americans with a will falling?
Two newer surveys say yes: Caring.com reports 33% in 2022 to 24% in 2025, Trust & Will 31% in 2025 to 26% in 2026.
8. Do you need to be wealthy to need a will?
No. Caring.com found parents of children under 18 are the largest group without estate documents, and a will can name a guardian. Ask an estate-planning attorney about your state’s rules.
9. Do parents have wills?
Many don’t: Trust & Will found 50% of parents have no estate documents, and Caring.com found parents of minors are the largest uncovered group.
10. What happens if you die without a will?
Your state’s intestacy law generally decides who inherits, which can exclude unmarried partners and stepchildren. Ask an estate-planning attorney in your state how default rules would apply to you.
11. Does having a will mean my family is fully covered?
Not necessarily: wills can go out of date, and beneficiary forms, joint ownership, and trusts can override them. An estate-planning attorney can check how yours fit together.
Your next step if you’re in the majority without a will
If you’re among the majority without a will, start by listing what you own, who depends on you, and which accounts name a beneficiary. Then decide how to make it: online will vs lawyer compares both routes. A written list also gives an attorney or an online service a head start. Bring that list to an estate-planning attorney licensed in your state.
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