📰 WBN – Most People Agree Estate Planning Matters

By Claire | World Referral Network Subscribe For Free| October 5, 2026

New survey data from the U.S. and Canada shows a wide gap between what people believe about estate planning and what they've actually done — a gap that hits business owners and families in distinct, costly ways. Part one of a two-part series.

What Happened

New 2026 survey data out of the U.S. and Canada confirms a gap that's held steady for years: people overwhelmingly agree that having a will, a trust, and a financial plan matters, and most still haven't put any of it in place. The result isn't neutral. Dying without these pieces in order triggers a specific, predictable chain of events — court involvement, frozen accounts, public disclosure of private finances, and real dollar costs that come directly out of what families and businesses were meant to carry forward.

By The Numbers

73% of Americans say estate planning is personally important, but 56% have none of the five core documents in place: no will, no trust, no medical power of attorney, no financial power of attorney, no HIPAA authorization (Trust & Will, 2026)
U.S. will ownership fell from 31% to 26% in a single year (Trust & Will, 2026)
94% of Canadians believe everyone should have a will; only 52% actually have one (CIBC/Ipsos, 2026)
Roughly half of Canadians have no will at all, a figure largely unchanged for years (Angus Reid Institute)
Over half of people underestimate probate costs, assuming it runs $1,000 or less; actual probate costs typically run 3% to 7% of the full estate value — $15,000 to $35,000 on a $500,000 estate
Close to half of adults in both countries say they would not know what to do if a family member died today
54% of small business owners have a formal succession plan; just 8% feel fully prepared to transition ownership (Teamshares, 2026)
Among non-employer businesses — the most common structure for solo entrepreneurs — only 35% plan to transfer ownership at all; the rest plan to close or have no plan
Of small businesses listed for sale, 70% never find a buyer
40% of business owners plan to retire within the next decade, most without an exit strategy in place

Key Developments

The reasons people give for not having these documents in place are nearly identical on both sides of the border: procrastination first, followed by the belief that they don't have enough assets to justify the paperwork. Neither reason holds up against what actually happens by default — and the consequences land differently depending on whether a family is dealing with a house and a savings account, or a house, a savings account, and a business.

In the U.S., dying without a will means state intestacy law decides who inherits, not necessarily in the way the deceased would have chosen. In Canada, the same gap plays out provincially, often with more specific formulas than people expect — in Ontario, for example, a surviving spouse receives a fixed "preferential share" of the estate before any remainder is split with children, rather than inheriting everything automatically. One Canadian-specific gap stands out: common-law partners generally have no automatic inheritance rights under intestacy law at all, regardless of how long the relationship lasted, and must make a formal legal claim just to be considered.

Minor children face a similar gap. Without a named guardian, a court decides who raises them, with no documented guidance from the parents to go on.

A detail that rarely makes it into the conversation: probate is a matter of public record. Once a will enters the court system, the document itself, the inventory of assets, and the names of beneficiaries typically become accessible to the public — in many counties, searchable online.

What This Means for Business Owners

This is where the stakes change category entirely. A family without a will loses time, money, and privacy. A business owner without a succession plan risks the business itself — along with every job, client relationship, and dollar of revenue attached to it.

A sole proprietorship has no legal existence separate from its owner. The moment that owner dies, the business has no one with legal authority to sign a check, fulfill a contract, pay an employee, or keep a license current — until a court appoints someone, which can take weeks or months. Even an LLC or corporation isn't automatically protected: without a buy-sell agreement specifying who inherits the ownership stake, whether partners have the right to buy it out, and how it's valued, surviving partners can find themselves legally tied to an estate, an inexperienced heir, or a drawn-out valuation dispute instead of running the business.

The numbers underline how exposed most businesses already are: with 40% of owners planning to retire within a decade and fewer than half holding a formal succession plan, a huge share of that transition is being left to chance rather than design. And the businesses that do get listed for sale without a plan in place fail to find a buyer seven times out of ten — meaning the default outcome for an unplanned exit isn't a sale at all. It's closure, with employees out of work and years of built value gone.

For a business owner, succession planning and personal estate planning are the same project, not two separate ones. The business is very often the owner's single largest asset — larger than the house, larger than any retirement account — and it's also the one asset that can completely lose its value if there's no plan for who runs it the day after the owner is gone.

What This Means for Families

For families without a business in the mix, the exposure is just as real, just differently shaped. The data shows close to half of people in both countries wouldn't know what to do if a family member died today — and that uncertainty gets expensive fast once probate opens. A family managing a $500,000 estate can expect to lose $15,000 to $35,000 straight to the probate process alone, money that would otherwise have gone to a surviving spouse, children, or whatever the deceased intended.

Meanwhile, the people actually responsible for executing an estate — a surviving spouse, an adult child, a sibling — are stepping into an unpaid, monthslong administrative job, often while grieving, frequently while also managing their own household and income. Frozen accounts mean a mortgage payment or a credit card bill doesn't wait for the court process to catch up. A family with no liquid life insurance in place is left trying to cover those gaps out of pocket, precisely when income may have just dropped.

And for any family where a relationship doesn't fit the legal default — a common-law partner, a blended family, a stepchild never formally adopted — the exposure compounds. These are exactly the relationships intestacy law tends to overlook, which means the people most likely to be left out financially are often the people the deceased most wanted to protect.

Why It Matters

A will was never built to solve this problem on its own, for a family or a business owner. It doesn't create liquidity, pay a mortgage during probate, or keep a business running the day after its owner is gone — and it doesn't touch retirement accounts or life insurance, which pass directly to named beneficiaries regardless of what a will says. Treating estate planning, succession planning, and financial planning as one coordinated plan, rather than three separate errands, is what actually determines whether a family stays financially stable and a business survives its owner's death — not just whether paperwork exists somewhere in a drawer. Part two of this series covers what changes, in practical terms, when a will, trust, succession plan, and life insurance are all properly in place.

Note: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or estate planning advice. Laws vary by state and province and change over time. Please consult a licensed attorney or estate and financial planning professional for guidance specific to your situation.

Claire WBN News – Real-Time Intelligence For Business Subscribe ([Insert Affiliate Link]) Contact: Claire.rfm@gmail.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-wetmore-72a74a25a/

Editor: Karalee Greer Subscription to WBN and being a Contributor is Free

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