No kids, no care: Solo agers are hiring professional 'next-of-kin' for major life decisions

By David Conti

They have financial security and a retirement map - but lack someone authorized to advocate for them

Roughly 25% of U.S. adults have no children. Many of these "solo agers" delay estate planning.

They've done everything right financially - saved aggressively, invested well, and built retirement portfolios that could last decades.

Affluent "solo agers" have financial security and a detailed retirement map - but many lack something much more basic: a clear estate plan and someone authorized to make decisions if they can't.

Roughly 25% of U.S. adults have no children, yet few wealth-management firms focus on their needs. And without children to serve as default heirs, caregivers or decision makers, many of these "solo agers" quietly delay estate planning - leaving a surprising gap in otherwise well-constructed financial lives.

The financial planning blind spot

Estate planning is typically framed as a family obligation. You draft a will because you have kids. You create a trust because you want to transfer assets. The conversation begins with inheritance.

But for childless investors, inheritance isn't the primary issue. Control is.

"Most people put estate documents in place because they have kids," says Jay Zigmont, founder of Childfree Wealth, a Tennessee-based firm focused on clients who choose not to have kids. "But child-free people still need to decide who makes decisions for them while they're alive and after they're gone. Yet only about 20% of child-free adults have executed core estate documents."

Without children as automatic heirs or caregivers, decisions about medical power of attorney, financial power of attorney, long-term care and even funeral logistics can't be left unanswered. Who directs paramedics to the right hospital? Who has legal authority to speak to doctors? Who can access accounts if cognitive decline sets in? Who ensures your stated wishes are followed, even if distant relatives disagree?

High-net-worth individuals in the past would rely on bank-trust departments. But those departments increasingly evolved into family offices catering to clients with substantial assets - often $5 million or more under management.

That leaves a wide middle- and upper-middle tier: investors with a few million dollars, real assets, serious savings - but no built-in human infrastructure.

The rise of professional 'next-of-kin'

An attempt to engineer structure where family would normally exist.

After several years researching regulatory hurdles and state-by-state complexities, Zigmont launched Childfree Trust, a service designed to step into roles traditionally handled by adult children.

"We'll get the 3 a.m. call from the hospital," Zigmont said. "We fax over the power of attorney, the medical documents, and start acting immediately. These are the gaps no one plans for."

The model is less about asset growth and more about continuity. Systems. Documentation. Accountability. It is, in effect, an attempt to engineer a structure where family would normally exist.

Two solo aging stories

Zigmont shared examples that illustrate the tension.

One client, "Thelma," a 79-year-old woman in Washington state, initially wanted to name a distant nephew as executor and beneficiary. On paper, it seemed logical. In practice, it created risk. If the nephew inherits what remains after her long-term care, is there an incentive, even subconsciously, to minimize expenses? "Does he get more money if she gets less care?" Zigmont asked.

Professional fiduciaries remove that conflict.

Another client, "Louise," is in her early 50s with roughly $2 million in assets. She has siblings listed as heirs, but they live in different states. She wants her funeral arrangements and memorial wishes handled precisely as documented.

Her questions weren't about money. They were about agency. Who makes sure her values are followed? Who handles logistics? What if family members disagree?

The trust administrator executes the checklist. Said Zigmont: "Many family members may not be happy with their decisions. That's unfortunate - but that's not our issue. We execute on the wishes detailed in the plan."

Beyond money: Who will take care of me?

For many solo agers, the deeper anxiety isn't about estate taxes or beneficiary designations. It's about aging.

Where will I live? Who coordinates my care? How do I avoid isolation?

Meg Stoltzfus, a retirement coach and housing navigator at Financial Council in Towson, Md., works closely with clients facing those questions. Solo agers, she said, must be intentional about understanding housing options, long-term-care costs and availability, often earlier than their peers with children.

Coordinating your own care is an aspect of living alone that's often overlooked. "It's not just financial," Stoltzfus explained. "These are deeply personal concerns."

An overlooked need

Historically, estate-planning conversations began with inheritance: "Who gets what?" For child-free investors, the more pressing question is: "Who decides?"

The industry still treats estate planning as a downstream activity - something you do after accumulating wealth, as a final step. But for solo agers, it may be foundational. A well-funded brokerage account does not automatically grant someone the legal right to speak for you in an emergency room.

Money can buy care. It can buy advisers. It can buy trustees. It cannot buy family. What it can buy is structure - if you build it.

In earlier generations, family networks were tighter. Fewer people moved across the country. Traditions anchored people geographically. There was always someone to step in.

Today, I scroll through my phone contacts of friends and see a growing number of solo agers - many by choice. Careers came first. Mobility mattered. Independence carried weight.

It's not necessarily better or worse. It's simply different. And here's the quiet truth: If we live long enough, most of us will experience solo aging in some form. A spouse passes away. Children move across the country. Health narrows social circles.

The question isn't whether you'll face a period of solo aging. It's whether you've designed a system for it.

David Conti is a financial writer and retirement coach at RetireMentors.

Also read: We're in our 70s and childless. Who will take care of us and our fortune when we're old?

More: How to plan for the end of your life if you don't have kids or a spouse

-David Conti

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05-02-26 1056ET