You signed your wishes. 38% say family still wouldn't know where to find them

What happened

Signing the paperwork is only half the job. On October 6, 2026, Insurance Business reported results from the Aflac Life Insurance and Legacy Planning Study, a survey of 1,000 U.S. adult employees. Even among people who had documented their wishes, 38% did not believe their loved ones knew exactly where to find them.

That is the lead fact. Completion still matters too. Two-thirds of respondents rated an advance healthcare directive important, yet only 54% said they have one.

So many adults stop before the first signature. And among those who did sign, more than one in three still doubt that family could locate the documents when it counts.

The study named familiar barriers: uncertainty about where to begin, complexity, cost, and discomfort. More than half said simple step-by-step guidance would help. Cite the figures as Aflac's study via Insurance Business. Aflac sells related products, and the release does not publish fieldwork dates or a margin of error.

Why it matters

Advance care planning has two failure modes that feel the same in an ER. One is never completing a directive. The other is completing one, filing it somewhere private, and discovering later that no one at the bedside can open it.

The 38% figure sits in the second mode. These are people who already documented. What they still lack is confidence that the right people know where the record lives.

When a person cannot speak, families and care teams still have to decide. That is when documented wishes should be easy to find. A form in a drawer, a portal nobody opened, or a folder only one relative remembers is not a plan the bedside can use in seconds. Wanted care needs both a clear signed record and a way to reach it under pressure.

What you can do about it

1. If you do not have an advance healthcare directive yet, start there. Sign something clear. Name who can decide. Tell the people who love you what it says.
2. If you already signed, ask the question the study implies: would your family know exactly where to find it tonight?
3. Share copies with your agent, key relatives, and clinicians. Do not rely on a single location only you can open.
4. Revisit after a move, a new diagnosis, a change in relationships, or every few years.

WearableDocs exists for the same reason this statistic lands: signed wishes should travel with the person. A QR from a card or wearable can open the record, alert emergency contacts, and leave a sealed view trail. Signed isn't enough. Findable is.

This article is for general public education only. It is not legal, medical, or emergency advice. Laws and forms can change; consult a qualified clinician and, for personal legal questions, a licensed attorney. In an emergency, call 911.