When lockdown first happened, nothing was certain. The world came to a halt.
The future is now fascinating. And possibly holds more questions than answers:
Older generations had time to review their Will during lockdown but is that now a “job done”? And will they now ignore making any future adjustments? Wills are updated every 5-10 years not every 5-10 months.
Have older generations completed their estate planning for their families or will they review again? How certain are they of family financial needs?
Does the unknown future affect the call to action in legacy communications? Yes, without a shadow of a doubt.
In the last 18 months Will making has grown in almost every country we have researched (nine European countries, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand). The likelihood of Will/testamentary changes in the next 12-24 months are possibly minimal unless we make action to include a legacy really easy.
But the recent massive growth in Will making might well produce a legacy income spike in around seven years’ time.
I believe the Will writing revolution is over in the UK and possibly in USA Canada and Australia. In parts of the world where Will writing is rarer (especially mainland Europe) the Will making revolution has only just started. I expect legacy income to rocket in the next 5-10 years due to this new revolution.
Legacy income is growing globally and will continue to do so if we make the call to action easy . We must now focus on changing mindsets from “my Will has just been done – I can’t be bothered to do it again” to “You are right, it is so easy to add your charity to my Will”.
The legacy revolution is not over but it might slow down
Einstein said “I believe in intuitions. I sometimes FEEL that I am right. I do not KNOW that I am.” Me too!
Richard