10 Tips on What to Write in an Ethical Wills

Every generation is not like the one before. Every generation is unique in its own way and yet similar. Many of us consider creating an estate will or trust but yet, how many of us consider an "ethical will". It is not a legal document. An "ethical will" conveys the values you have lived by through the stories of your life. An "ethical will" helps you recall those stories, and then you can either write them down or record them on a CD or tape for future generations to read. Think of it as passing down your legacy to your children and their children to come. It is a way of being remembered by your future generation.

The best thing to do is outline what you want to cover. If you prefer to have a recording of the ethical will, make sure it is on something more permanent than a VHS tape. After several years VHS tapes wear out. So it is best to put it on a CD or even a file on your computer. A typed ethical will is good too because sometimes when we write our thoughts down, we take more time into what we want to say. It is best to do both. This way they can see you and remember what you looked like when you did this. They can see the laughter that might come out of this. My husband and I did an ethical will on CD, and afterwards we previewed it. We ended up laughing so hard that we realized our children will enjoy it even more. There was a part in there where we both were not sure if the recorder was on. We must have used up about five minutes of talking about that. We decided to leave it in because it showed our humor.

Here are some ideas to help you create an "ethical will".

1. Explain from different stages of your growth, from childhood, teenage years, married, etc.; what you learned while passing through these periods of change.

2. Explain your philosophies from different aspects of your life and show how it changed as you got older.

3. Explain your values. If your values stayed consistent over the years or changed as you got older, tell your children why it did.

4. Explain problems in life and how it changed you for the good or for the bad.

5. Talk about your career. Did you like your job? How to handle office politics? Any advice you can offer to your children?

7. Explain your life lessons and how they might benefit from your mistakes.

8. Explain your spiritual or religious views. Did those change over the years? Why?

9. If you have any secret hiding places for anything valuable, tell them.

10. Offer advice on what to do or not to do when it comes to finances.

You may not want to think of this now because you feel it could be a depressing thought to capture this information for when you pass away. However, think of it as giving a gift to your children and their children. Wouldn't you love to have had that yourself?