Study: What Motivates Millennials to Plan?

by Rebecca Roberts Galloway | Jun 7, 2021

A recent study of 20,000 millennials who created an estate plan found the group was motivated by parenthood and the pandemic, love their pets, want to give back to charities and science and prefer less traditional goodbyes.

The Estate Planning Study by Trust and Will found the majority of those they studied (75 percent) created a will because they had kids. The next highest percentage (17 percent) named the pandemic as a nudge.

Nearly 80 percent of “pet parents” named a guardian for their fluffy friends. Seven percent designated charities for donations, with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital the top choice followed by Planned Parenthood and the ASPCA, among others.

Other findings of the Trust and Will survey:

• 78 percent chose a will versus a trust-based plan.
• 36 percent chose a memorial/celebration of life.
• Twice as many preferred cremation over burial.
• 35 percent completed health care documents.
• 26 percent opted to donate their organs.
• 7 percent named a charity for a portion of their assets.

Researchers also say the data appears to show that millennials are moving away from traditional burial and funerals toward alternative celebrations and end-of-life customs.

They also found that about half said they’d choose “extreme medical care,” but only if the benefits would outweigh the drawbacks. Study authors said that led them to believe millennials are concerned about quality of life issues.

You can read more about the study here.