New research by Royal London has revealed that around 70% of adults in Ireland do not have a will in place.
“As a nation, it would appear that we are not great at planning for the future,” commented Joe Charles, Head of Proposition at Royal London. “Pension, wills – anything that seems to be particularly long-term in nature – is, based on our research, often avoided and ignored by a large portion of Ireland’s population. This is understandable considering wills and the like are not the most pleasant of topics. However, the absence of estate planning in families can often be the source of confusion and anxiety for those left behind.”
“Unsurprisingly, older respondents are the ones most organised in this regard, with 64% of respondents over 55 already having a will in place, compared with only 8% of young adults,” he added. “More than half of survey participants (53%) point to their next of kin as the person in charge of sorting out their ‘estate’.”
The survey also revealed that while 36% of respondents currently don’t have a will in place, a further 36% were found to be taking a more ’long-finger’ approach, in that they don’t have one in place, but have been meaning to ’sort it out’.
When asked when they thought was the best time to write a will, respondents gave a variety of answers:
- When I start a family (mentioned by 29%)
- When I buy a house (23%)
- I never really think about that sort of thing (19%)
- When I get married (14%)
- As soon as I hit 50 (9%)
- If I was to get really sick (6%)
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