Ethical Wills

We have heard about a Will – a Last Will and Testament, which names someone to take care of wrapping up our affairs and directs the distribution of our assets.  But, have you heard of an Ethical Will?

What exactly is an Ethical Will?  Simply put, it is a communication to your loved ones to share some personal thoughts.  It is written by you, not by an attorney, and simply provides some explanation to your loved ones.  Here are some examples of issues that can be addressed in an Ethical Will:

• You can explain in your own words the reasons that you have prepared your estate plan as you have.  What made you do what you did with regard to decisions you made during your lifetime.  What are your views about money, charitable giving, what you hope the future will hold for them with their inheritance and your hope for how they will spend their lives.
• This could be an opportunity to share thoughts with your trustee on such ideas of the use of distributions from a trust by a beneficiary, i.e., if the beneficiary requested a distribution to start a business, return to school, buy a house – decisions of what you feel would be a reasonable use of the distribution.
• You could reflect on lessons you have learned along life’s path and how they have impacted you, people who may have influenced you, experiences you have had, relationships that have been important, how you might hope they will carry on in life without you.
• Acquiring wealth can occur in a variety of ways and explaining how you acquired your assets and your philosophy is another option. 
• Last, but not least, just leave a message of love and gratitude for your feelings toward your loved ones left behind – basically this could be a real tear jerker! 

Among the advantages of such an ethical will are an option for communication to express things that may be difficult to share during your lifetime, to share your thoughts at a time when your thoughts may be better received, to provide guidance that is put down on paper and enable it to be referred to as often as wanted, to share special moments about your ancestors and perhaps events shared with them and the list could go on and on. 

And, don’t forget the benefits you could derive from writing your ethical will, just knowing that you have put your important thoughts on paper for your loved ones to hold on to after you have passed.

Tags: Ethical Wills, Wills