Ethical Wills
Ethical wills are not designed to take the place of your “last will and testament” or a “Living Will”. Living wills provide instructions of how you want to be treated medically at the end of your days.
Ethical wills are written to preserve family values for future generation in the form of statements of your principles and beliefs. These documents are not legally binding, but, a way to share your beliefs and memories with loved ones.
You can share your values, hopes, life’s lessons, loves and forgiveness with your family members and community. You can honor the past, capture the present and inform the future. This “values and vision statement” affords you the opportunity to leave an intellectual, spiritual or cultural legacy that can influence future generations.
There are no rules as to the structure or length of these wills. These documents are private since they do not have to go through probate. On the other hand these wills are not enforceable in a court of law.
How to set one up:
The hardest part of writing an ethical will is how to begin. There are three basic ways to write an ethical will. You can begin with an outline and list of suggestions. This is by far the easiest way to get started. Once you’ve created a rough draft, you can review and personalize it as much as you wish. Second, you can also begin with guided writing exercises. Examples: “From my grandparents, I learned …”, “From my parents, I learned …”, “From experience I learned …”, “I am most grateful for …”
The third way is to begin with a blank sheet of paper. Write down whatever is relevant about your thoughts, experiences and feelings. This is an open-ended approach.
>Some resources<
In Print:
Ethical Wills: Putting Your Values on Paper, by Barry K. Baines, MD, 2nd Edition (Da Capo Press, 2006)
Women’s Lives, Women’s Legacies: Passing Your Beliefs and Blessings to Future Generations, by Rachel Freed (Fairview Press, 2003)
The Wealth of Your Life: A Step-by-Step Guide for Creating Your Ethical Will
by Susan Turnbull (Benedict Press, 2005, $19.95)
On the Internet:
Jorge Castillo said,
Wrote on February 3, 2008 @ 7:19 pm
Paul, is always a pleasure to read your comments. The second chapter on “The seven habits…” has a lot to do with this, and is definetily a great reading. As always thanks for sharing your wisdom and advice. Jorge.