Estate planning in Australia: or: it will never happen to me

The following report details the findings of a survey into the estate planning practices of a representative random sample of over 1,000 adult Australians. Research on estate planning and the factors that impact Estate Planning decisions in Australian is limited and constrained by poor availability of data (Perkins 2016). The little research that has been done usually involves small samples and tends to focus on whether people have an up-to-date will. This study is the first attempt of a large scale national survey of the general public. Our aim is to gain greater insight into how issues such as trusts, digital assets and professional advice impact on Estate Planning decisions. Results from this study may assist Australians to better understand and appreciate the issues involved in undertaking effective estate planning.