More and more people are writing their last will

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a surge of wills in Switzerland over the past three years. While 27 percent of 45-year-olds wrote their last will before the pandemic, it has now increased to 32 percent.

The Alliance for the Common Good came to this conclusion in a survey, as announced Thursday. For those surveyed, writing a will had of course become an issue. The main purpose of regulating the heritage is to secure the immediate environment.

Avoiding an inheritance dispute is also high on the motivation list. The desire to know what will happen to the property also plays an important role. According to the Alliance for the Common Good, this is related to growing doubts about solidarity. Compared to the pre-pandemic situation, 37 percent found less solidarity this year instead of 19 percent.

Three thousandths for the common good

In the survey, 14 percent of respondents who had written wills indicated that they had considered non-profit organizations in their last will. It was eleven percent in 2020.

Three-thousandths of the approximately 95 billion Swiss Francs inherited each year go to such organisations. The commissioner of the survey concludes that it should intensify its educational efforts, as respondents recognize that nonprofits have an important place in society.

Overall, the Corona crisis has made people more thoughtful. 38 percent of respondents were increasingly concerned about death and finitude. 41 percent thought about the meaning of a living will.

Between 18 July and 2 August, 1035 people over the age of 45 in German- and French-speaking Switzerland participated in the online survey conducted by the idea research institute Demoscope.

The commissioning alliance is an association of 44 nonprofits. According to his own statements, he is committed to giving more importance to legacies in the future. (SDA/kae)