If you aren’t familiar with this term, you aren’t alone. You’ve most likely heard of a Last Will and Testament, which is a legal document designating your beneficiaries and fiduciaries after their death. 

An ethical will is personal, and instead of focusing on the distribution of one’s assets, it outlines your values, beliefs, family traditions, stories and lessons learned. It’s about legacy. (Note – an ethical will is not a legal document. It cannot be used as a substitute for a Last Will and Testament.)

An ethical will can include what is most important for the family member to pass down to future generations. In the age of technology and social media, how special would it be to get an actual document from your relative? It’s something tangible that can easily be shared for years to come. Can you imagine your future family members reading an authentic story you wrote 50 or 100 years from now? It’s almost like a time capsule, reopened again and again. 

I came across this concept recently and thought it would provide value to my clients and friends. So, we developed our own version of an ethical will, and we would like to share it with you. Please send me an email and I will send it to you!

A great example of something in an ethical will might be the story of a special family tradition. Sure, there will be photos and maybe even social media captions, but where did this tradition come from and how did it all begin? Why is it important to the family? Personally, I have so many questions now as an adult that I wouldn’t have thought to ask when I was younger. I wish I had asked my grandmother about how she ended up in Connecticut and met my grandfather. I wish I had more information about my Dad’s time in the Navy during WWII.

The power of an ethical will is that it allows the writer to share specific messages to individual family members and friends, and messages for generations yet to come. 

There is no right or wrong when it comes to writing a document like this. Maybe one person wants to share quotes or books they love. Maybe another wants to write messages for upcoming celebrations they might not be there to witness like weddings or milestone birthdays. 

It’s important to think about the wisdom we want to leave behind. Aside from your assets, this is really your legacy. There are so many things I’ve learned in my life that I want to share with my son and creating something like this is the perfect way to include it all in a dedicated document. 

While the benefits are many to the recipients, an ethical will also feels like it would be quite therapeutic for the writer. We don’t get a lot of time to truly sit down and reflect on our lives and intentionally think about the greatest moments and lessons we want to ensure are passed down. 

And as always, if you have any needs with respect to estate planning, we are here for you.