How Gender and Other Identity Factors Influence Attitudes Toward Will Making: Lessons From Australia

Authors

Bridget J. Crawford
Tina Cockburn
Kelly Purser
Ho Fai Chan
Stephen Whyte
Uwe Dulleck

Abstract

This essay aims to stimulate interest in further empirical study of attitudes toward will making by reporting the results of a 2022 survey conducted in Australia of the general population (n=1202) and legal professionals (n=112). We asked participants for their views about the ideal age at which to begin the will-making process and the relative contributions of the client and attorney to any resulting will. There was a discernible gender-based difference in views on both questions. Women preferred to initiate those conversations approximately six years earlier than men did and, especially at earlier life stages, preferred less professional input into the will-making process than men did.

Recommended Citation

Crawford, Bridget J.; Cockburn, Tina; Purser, Kelly; Chan, Ho Fai; Whyte, Stephen; and Dulleck, Uwe (2023) "How Gender and Other Identity Factors Influence Attitudes Toward Will Making: Lessons From Australia," ACTEC Law Journal: Vol. 49: No. 1, Article 4.
Available at: https://scholarlycommons.law.hofstra.edu/acteclj/vol49/iss1/4