The relationship between parents' personality traits and leaving unequal bequests to children

This study investigated the relationship between the five-factor model personality traits and parents' intentions to leave unequal bequests to their children. A sample of 1229 was drawn from the 2016 wave of the health and retirement study. As predicted by the study's hypotheses, the results found that conscientiousness was negatively related to unequal bequests, while extraversion was positively related to unequal bequests. Opposite of the study's prediction, however, was a positive relationship between agreeableness and unequal bequests. Although the effect sizes were small, financial planners can easily use these findings to better understand how their clients' personality traits may play a role in their wealth transfer intentions.