Older Adults’ Relationship Trajectories and Estate Planning

Choi, Shinae; Carr, Deborah

doi:10.1007/s10834-022-09839-y

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 40 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Older adults with significant wealth may opt for cohabitation rather than marriage as a way to protect their assets for their offspring. Under intestacy laws, bereaved spouses almost uniformly inherit their partner's major assets upon death, although cohabiting partners do not automatically receive inheritance if their partner dies without a will (Choi & Carr, 2023). These findings underscore the importance of linked lives; older cohabiting persons' financial decisions may take into consideration the needs of family members other than their romantic partner.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender differences in the economic consequences of life‐long singlehood among older white U.S. adults

Carr,

Wang,

Smock

2024

J of Marriage and Family

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ObjectiveDrawing on life course frameworks, this study examines how never married older adults differ from their married, cohabiting, divorced, and widowed peers with respect to three dimensions of late‐life economic security, and gender differences in these associations.BackgroundLifelong singlehood has become increasingly common over the past five decades, although little is known about the economic security of never married older adults relative to their currently and formerly married peers.MethodData are from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS), which tracked Wisconsin high school graduates from ages 18 (1957) to 72 (2011). The 2011 analytic sample includes 5269 persons (2498 men and 2711 women). OLS and logistic regressions are used to predict total household income, wealth, and poverty status at age 72, adjusted for covariates.ResultsLifelong single men have higher poverty rates and lower income than men in all other marital categories, although divorced men evidence the lowest levels of wealth. Lifelong single women fare worse than married and cohabiting women but better than divorced women. Older men are more financially secure than women in every marital status category except lifelong singles.ConclusionBy centering the experiences of never married older adults, results reveal the economic precarity of lifelong single men and distinctions among subgroups of unmarried women. We document the persistence of gender inequality, where men consistently fare better than women across marital statuses.ImplicationsPublic policies should recognize growing heterogeneity in older adults' marital statuses and the implications thereof for their late‐life economic security.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender differences in the economic consequences of life‐long singlehood among older white U.S. adults

Carr,

Wang,

Smock

2024

J of Marriage and Family

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, Choi, McDonough, et al (2019) found that 62.7% of White individuals had a valid will while only 20.3% of non‐Hispanic Black individuals and 14.5% of Hispanic individuals had a valid will. Furthermore, Choi and Carr (2023) documented differences in estate planning based on relationship trajectories among U.S. older adults. The factors and obstacles associated with Black consumers' engagement in estate planning warrant further examination.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

U.S. Black adults' estate planning: The role of financial planner use, inheritance receipt, and life insurance ownership

Watkins,

Choi,

Reiter

et al. 2024

Fin Plan Rev

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

While an emerging body of research has documented the significance of estate planning, there remains limited understanding regarding the extent of Black adults' engagement with estate planning in the United States. The objectives of this study were to examine whether the utilization of financial planners, the status of inheritance receipt, and religion are associated with engagement in estate planning among U.S. Black adults, and how these associations vary based on life insurance policy ownership. Participants for this study were 673 U.S. Black adults aged 25 and older who completed an online survey in July 2021. We estimated logistic regression models to predict Black adults' engagement in estate planning. Results indicated that in fully adjusted models, Black adults who used the services of a financial planner had significantly higher odds of executing a valid will or trust than those who did not seek assistance from a financial planner. The status of inheritance receipt, frequency of attendance at religious services, and ownership of life insurance policies were positively and significantly associated with engagement in estate planning among Black adults. However, as a moderator, patterns did not differ significantly depending on whether they owned life insurance policies. These findings may assist professionals and other stakeholders in financial planning to develop strategies or interventions to enhance estate planning for U.S. Black households.

show abstract

Marital Status and Advance Care Planning Among Older Adults: Do Gendered Patterns Vary by Age?

Kalousová,

Carr

2024

The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives Advance care planning (ACP), which comprises a living will, durable power of attorney for health care (DPAHC), and end-of-life discussions, is an inherently relational process. However, it is unclear how marital status affects men’s and women’s ACP over the life course. Drawing on social control and gender as relational frameworks, we examine marital status differences in ACP, and how these patterns differ by gender and age. Methods Data are from the 2020 Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a representative sample of U.S. older adults (N = 7,074). We estimate logistic regression models to evaluate whether marital status differences in ACP are moderated by age and gender, and multinomial logistic regressions to examine age and gender differences in DPAHC designations among married parents. Analyses are adjusted for sociodemographic and health covariates. Results Multivariable analyses revealed significant moderation effects for discussions only. Among married/cohabiting persons, women are more likely than men to have end-of-life discussions, with differences diminishing slightly at oldest ages. Among divorced persons in their 60s and 70s, women are much more likely than men to have had discussions, although this gap converges among the oldest-old. Conversely, young-old widowed men and women are equally likely to have discussions, although women are increasingly likely to do so with advancing age. Men are more likely than women to name their spouse as DPAHC, yet this gap diminishes with age. Discussion Health care providers can better guide end-of-life consultations if they understand how men’s and women’s family relationships change with advancing age.

show abstract

Older Adults’ Relationship Trajectories and Estate Planning

Cited by 4 publications

References 40 publications

Gender differences in the economic consequences of life‐long singlehood among older white U.S. adults

Gender differences in the economic consequences of life‐long singlehood among older white U.S. adults

U.S. Black adults' estate planning: The role of financial planner use, inheritance receipt, and life insurance ownership

Marital Status and Advance Care Planning Among Older Adults: Do Gendered Patterns Vary by Age?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About