A Google Consumer Survey by LegalWills.ca suggests that previous surveys may have under-reported the number of Canadians without a Will by not including those who had a Will that was out-of-date. In 2012, data showed that 56% of Canadians did not have a Will, which has now increased to 62%. A new statistic also reveals that 12% of Canadians have a Will that is out-of-date, meaning 74% of Canadians do not have an up-to-date Last Will and Testament.

“We really wanted to explore this group after hearing from people who had a Will, but had it written before they got married or had children” explained Tim Hewson, CEO of LegalWills.ca. “In essence, although they technically had a Will, it was worthless.”

This was especially true of seniors (aged 65+), who were the most likely to have an out-of-date Will (21%).

For Canadians aged 35 and older, only 38% responded to having an up-to-date Will; 14% have an out-of-date Will, and 48% do not have a Will at all.

For Canadians under 35, only 18% have a Will, and nearly half of them are out-of-date.

View full survey results in the LegalWills.ca article.

Income vs. the Probability of Having an up-to-date Will

Adults least likely to have an up-to-date Will were in the highest annual income range of $100,000+.

Adults most likely to have an up-to-date Will were in the lowest annual income range of $0–$24,999. The trend continued: as income increased, the probability of having an up-to-date Will decreased.

About LegalWills.ca

LegalWills.ca is operated by PartingWishes Inc., an independent organization which works with lawyers in Canada to provide legal document creation services to the public. Formed in 2000, the company has since helped hundreds of thousands to create legal documents in an easy, secure, and affordable manner.

PartingWishes Inc. is also the parent company of USLegalWills.com, LegalWills.co.uk, and ExpatLegalWills.com.

Methodology

The LegalWills.ca survey was conducted within Canada by Google Consumer Surveys, June 2016, among 2,000 adults aged 18 and older, and has a root square mean error of 4.7%.

Results are weighted by age, gender, and region. For full information on Google Consumer Surveys’ methodology, visit here.