Trust & Will Report Shows Persistent Estate Planning Gap as AI Acceptance Surges

New updates have been reported about Trust & Will.

Trust & Will has released its 2026 Estate Planning Report, positioning the company at the center of how Americans approach legacy and end-of-life planning while highlighting a stubbornly unchanged preparedness gap. Despite rising awareness and broader access to digital tools, 56% of U.S. adults still lack any estate planning documents, while will ownership has fallen to 26% and trust usage has climbed to 14%, signaling a shift toward more complex planning among those who do act.

The data underscores a major Gen X opportunity for Trust & Will, with 62% of that cohort unprotected despite facing peak financial and family complexity and 42% of all respondents saying they would not know what to do if a family member died today. This unmet need, combined with the company’s existing base of more than one million users and $300 billion in self-reported estate assets, positions Trust & Will to deepen penetration through consumer channels, financial advisors, and its 200-plus enterprise partners.

The report also reveals a sharp change in technology attitudes that directly reinforces Trust & Will’s AI-driven product strategy: 30% of Americans now trust AI advice more than a human attorney for estate planning, up 10 points in a year, and that share rises to 46% for Gen Z. At the same time, only 5% would rely on AI without attorney review, validating Trust & Will’s thesis that the future is a hybrid model combining AI-enabled workflows with legal oversight, which CEO Cody Barbo says is precisely where the company is investing.

Trust & Will’s findings suggest sustained financial anxiety and fading optimism are shaping demand, with 45% of respondents more financially concerned than a year ago and very few feeling less worried, making estate planning a defensive financial wellness tool rather than a discretionary task. The company can also capitalize on emerging planning needs flagged in the report, including digital assets—where 48% have no instructions—pet care, and protection gaps for serious but unmarried couples, all areas where digital, state-specific, and scenario-based solutions can differentiate its platform.

Strategically, the survey’s evidence that 73% of Americans consider estate planning personally important, yet a large share remain inactive and undecided on how to proceed, defines a sizable addressable market segment that Trust & Will can target through education, advisor-led offerings, and embedded solutions with banks and wealth managers. As legacy perceptions broaden—41% prioritize memories and relationships over money—the company is positioned to expand beyond transactional document creation into a more holistic legacy platform, supporting long-term engagement, cross-sell with partners, and deeper integration into modern financial wellness strategies.