Given that almost two thirds (65%) of Brits are yet to make a will—a number that rises to over three quarters for under the ager of 55—you’d think that we don’t care too much about what happens to us and our stuff once we’re gone. Wrong. According to Beyond Life, the ‘knowledgeable companion for everything after life’, people have a lot to say about what occurs once our time is up on this mortal coil.
“Take care of him or I’ll haunt you.”
In this age of digital ubiquity, Beyond Life’s study has shown that millennials are 52% more likely than (OK) boomers to create their wills online, and of these 81% would consider leaving some or all of their money to a charity, friend or political party ahead of family. Women are more anxious about passing than men, with twice as many citing said anxiety as a reason for not yet having gotten around to it writing their will.
Of those that have their wills in place, 38% of women versus 28% of men would add their funeral wishes into their wills, alongside some very interesting bits and pieces to be passed on; some of the stranger ones including the will-maker’s own physical heart left to a spouse, a cardboard cut-out of Dr Who’s Jenna Coleman, and a monkey alongside a warning to “take care of him or I’ll haunt you.”
Speaking of haunting, 5% of the UK population would consider asking people to stay the night in a haunted house to earn access to their will; a figure that rises to 14% among 16 to 24 year olds. And what about social media? What happens to our digital legacies once we’re gone? Of the people spoken to, 27% would like their social media profiles deactivated after death, with 10% stating that they’d like them kept open and used as memorial pages. (After all, narcissism reigns in the digital age.)
Of course there’s a lot to think about, and it would appear the amount of confusing details that need taking care of can mean folk procrastinate on what’s an exceedingly important task to carry out. Whether you’re planning ahead or coping with a bereavement, Beyond Life can help you to cut through the jargon.
Take a closer look at the information they unearthed, and think about how you’d like your afterlife to shape out…
Provided by Beyond Life.
