Nearly half of Baby Boomers are leaving property in their wills

Millennials to Strike Property Gold with Will Inheritance…

Farewill CEO, Dan Garrett:

“This year it was great to see that despite the cost-of-living crisis, people are still able to leave property to their loved ones in their wills. With nearly half of Baby Boomers leaving property in their wills, this gesture could significantly impact Millennials, a generation struggling with homeownership due to financial constraints. This report not only underscores the generational differences in property ownership but also reflects the potential for wills to address some aspects of the housing affordability crisis, offering a unique lens on the socio-economic shifts between generations.”

Farewill, a leading will-writing service, has released its annual Year in Wills report for 2023, revealing the patterns they have seen throughout the year, especially in how wills are constantly evolving. The report, which analyses anonymised data from thousands of wills written in 2023, reveals that nearly half (49%) of Baby Boomers left a property in their will, leaving Millennials likely to strike gold with their inheritance.

In a year where financial constraints tightened for many, bricks and mortar remained popular amongst Brits’ wills. Farewill’s comprehensive analysis reveals that 69% of Baby Boomers have paid off their homes in full and are passing on this luxury to the generations below them in their wills. On the other hand, barely one-in-ten (13%) Millennials own a property outright, so receiving the gift of a property from a loved ones will is sure to come as a welcome gift.

Baby Boomers are far and away the most generous when it comes to leaving property. Farewill’s report highlights that the Post-War generation left a property 37% of the time, despite being the most likely to own their property outright (90%) and unsurprisingly, Gen Z owned property relatively rarely, including it in just 26% of wills, potentially indicating that only the wealthiest of Gen Z are able to afford homes in the current climate.

The findings are based on an examination of anonymised data from wills written with Farewill throughout 2023, compared against data spanning from 2016 to 2022. This analysis includes customer demographics, the nature of cash and possessions left as gifts, property and other large assets, as well as incomed pledged to charity.