A Survey of Preferences for Estate Distribution at Death

What do you want to do with your property when you die? This paper presents the results of a survey in which we asked this question to a nationally representative sample of 9000 American adults. We gathered data on respondents' families and then asked them how they would like to divide their property among those they leave behind. We find that people are more ambivalent about gifts to spouses and more generous to nonmarital partners than the law of intestacy generally assumes. People also give less to parents and more to siblings, extended relatives, and friends than expected and much more to stepchildren than expected. We find some significant differences by race, class, and gender, with women, African Americans, and people of less income and education preferring to give less to their spouses. Our findings improve upon empirical studies of probated wills by providing an unbiased sample, by including data on demographic characteristics, and by observing the preferences of people in unconventional families. We suggest that although intestacy law is often said to implement majoritarian preferences, it may be more consistent with a mix of majoritarianism, paternalism, and administrative efficiency.