When Friends Are Your Primary Concern in Making a Will

As marriage rates in younger generations dwindle, many are left with a unique problem that has yet to be deeply considered in the legal community: leaving everything to friends. Many people have built meaningful friendships that become so-called “chosen family”; however, intestate succession laws do not consider nonrelatives.

Reid Weisbord, a professor at Rutgers Law School, is quoted in the article. Mr. Weisbord said people rarely considered estate-planning challenges like mine. “Our society can be biased against people who don’t have children or are not married,” he said.

Another major factor to consider for a single, childless person is planning for incapacity. Naming someone as executor of an estate is a big ask, and naming someone to make medical decisions on your behalf is even more significant.

For more information see Sara Murphy “When Friends Are Your Primary Concern in Making a Will” The New York Times, April 29, 2023.

Special thanks to Naomi Cahn (University of Virginia) for bringing this article to my attention.