This study updates research conducted by Kao et. al. (1997) in their article entitled "Bequest expectations: Evidence from the 1989 Survey of Consumer Finances" published in the Journal of Family and Economic Issues. This original study used the 1989 SCF to study the two sides of bequests: the bequest gift motive and the receipt expectation and this paper maintains that structure. The second purpose of this study is to add additional variables found within the SCF that align with altruistic bequest theory, a relatively novel theory to the field of personal financial planning. The new variables include proxies of altruism, namely charitable giving, the prioritization of saving for the benefit of children, and volunteerism. Finally, this study seeks to explore the relationship between longevity expectation and bequest motive. We examine bequest gift motive using an unweighted multinomial logit model and the receipt expectation using an unweighted binary logit model.

Accepted Oral Presentation