UpTrajectory Review

Kiplinger's Adviser Intel contributor lays out the six estate planning documents every business owner should have in place, opening with a stark statistic from Trust & Will's 2026 survey of 5,000 U.S. adults: only 26% have a will, down from 31% a year earlier, and 56% have no estate planning documents at all. The piece identifies two reasons for this procrastination — most people know little about the topic, and it forces us to confront our own mortality — then walks through the will as the foundational document, directing who receives what and serving as the safety net when other instruments fall short. The excerpt cuts off mid-explanation of the will, but the headline promises five more documents, likely including a living trust, durable power of attorney, healthcare directive, and business succession provisions.

For a small business owner, this is not abstract wealth planning — it is operational continuity. Without a will or trust, state intestate succession law decides who receives your assets, and that process can drag through probate court for months or years while legal fees erode the estate's value. If you own a business, the stakes compound: default rules were never designed to handle operating companies, blended families, or the question of who actually steps in to run the enterprise the Monday after something happens to you. Your employees, vendors, and customers do not have the luxury of waiting for a court to sort out ownership.

The most genuinely notable finding here is the decline in will ownership — 31% to 26% in a single year. That is not a gradual trend; it is a measurable backslide in basic estate preparedness during a period of economic uncertainty and rising business valuations. The piece correctly frames procrastination as a cycle of avoidance and fear rather than simple laziness, which is a more honest diagnosis than most financial content offers. We are skeptical, however, of any implication that awareness alone solves the problem. Most business owners know they need a will. The barrier is usually cost, complexity, or not knowing which attorney to trust — none of which the excerpt addresses.

The second-order effects split sharply by business structure. A sole proprietor without estate planning is essentially handing their family a court-supervised wind-down of the business, often at fire-sale prices. An LLC or corporation owner faces a different problem: the operating agreement and buy-sell provisions may conflict with a will or trust, creating litigation between heirs and surviving partners. High-net-worth owners with blended families face the steepest cliff, since intestate rules typically prioritize a spouse and biological children in ways that can exclude stepchildren or unmarried partners entirely. The 56% with no documents at all are disproportionately younger business owners — precisely the people whose businesses have the most growth ahead and the most to lose.

The actionable move is to treat this as a business project, not a personal resolution. Start with the will, but do not stop there — a will alone does not avoid probate, does not appoint someone to run your business, and does not express your healthcare wishes. Schedule a consultation with an estate planning attorney who has experience with business owners specifically, and bring your operating agreement, partnership agreements, and any existing beneficiary designations so the documents work together rather than against each other. If cost is the barrier, look for state bar association referral programs or flat-fee estate planning services. The 26% who have wills are not smarter than the other 74% — they just stopped rolling the resolution forward.

“Without a will or trust, state law decides who receives your assets, not you.” — Kiplinger

Takeaway: Only 26% of adults have a will, and business owners who join that unprepared majority risk leaving their company in probate limbo — schedule an estate planning consultation this quarter.