Everybody Dies: Financial Education and Basic Estate Planning

Abstract

This study investigated the role of financial education on a basic level of estate planning of U.S. households. Results from the 2018 National Financial Capability Study (NFCS) dataset showed that financial education is positively associated with one’s basic estate planning, proxied by having a will. Multiple exposures to financial education over time had stronger positive associations with having a will. One notable finding was that those receiving financial education offered by an employer only or jointly by an employer and other sources (high school and/or college) were more likely to have a will. In addition, among those who received financial education, the number of hours and the overall quality were positively associated with the likelihood of having a will. Additional analyses from Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and similar regressions across generations reveal that results were robust. The results provide meaningful insights for financial educators and practitioners.

Estate Planning Behaviour: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Table 5 reports the frequency of publication based on countries where the studies were conducted. Result shows that most of the publications focused in the USA context (Choi and Wilmarth 2019;DeBoer and Hoang 2017;Edwards 1991;Goetting and Martin 2001;James 2009;Kim and Stebbins 2021;Koss and Baker 2018;Sargeant and Shang 2011;Woosley et al 2017),which accounted for nine publications, followed by two in United Kingdom (Brandon and Crenshaw 2015;Sanders and Smith 2016), two in Australia (Wiepking et al 2010(Wiepking et al , 2012 and only one in European countries (Stark and Nicinska 2015). Further, the results also documented publications on estate planning in non-English market, which three in South Africa (Matchaba-Hove and Troskie 2019; Van der Merwe 2010; Venter 2014) and seven in Asian countries.…”

“…, Koss andBaker (2018), andJames (2009) used data from The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) (Sonnega et al 2014). Other authors used distinguished secondary data sources such as the National Financial Capability Study (NFCS) (Kim and Stebbins 2021), Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (Woosley et al 2017), Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) (DeBoer and Hoang 2017), Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) (Stark and Nicinska 2015) and Study of Aging and Health Dynamics (AHEAD) (Goetting and Martin 2001). However, only Sanders and Smith (2016) used legal data sources from Co-operative Legal Services (CLS), a national law firm that analysed written wills from 1 January 2012 to 15 January 2013.…”

“…For Kim and Stebbins (2021), estate planning is associated with long-term financial behaviour, as the benefits are more on the heirs rather than the descendants. For most authors, estate planning is the process where individuals make advance financial decisions and plan for their wealth distribution to the heirs once deceased (Brandon and Crenshaw 2015;Gill et al 2017;Goetting and Martin 2001;Mahapatra et al 2019).…”

Leading Generation Z’s Financial Literacy Through Financial Education: Contemporary Bibliometric and Content Analysis in China

“…From the bibliometric and content analysis, this paper has highlighted that financial education and financial literacy have received insufficient attention in the existing body of research since it has been under-researched. The relationship between the two concepts needs to be ascertained for future research, especially when concerning the dimensions within financial education, and other personal or environmental factors that could affect this relationship (Kim & Stebbins, 2021). In terms of the significance and impact of this study, young people need to get financial education while they are still in secondary school since this setting is the atmosphere in which young people’s financial literacy may be developed in the most organic manner (A.…”

Neuropsychological Performance and Engagement in Estate Planning and Advance Care Planning Preparation of Patients With Neurocognitive Disorders and Healthy Older Adults: Is the Situation Alarming or Reassuring in Greece?

“…Second, if families are willingly or unwillingly exploiting (or are more prone to exploit) the older adults who have not engaged in estate planning and ACP, then education and early intervention (standardized procedures for when an adult turns a specific age or when she is initially diagnosed) may also be needed. Given that multiple exposures to financial education have stronger positive associations with having a will and estate planning when a person is “cognitively intact” ( Kyoung & Richard, 2021 ), this exploratory study aims to establish what factors should be considered in future research and educational programs regarding ACP not only in Greek cultural settings, but also in other European environments.…”