Ethical Wills – The True Worth of Your Estate Plan
Legacy Planning is a way of sharing your values, blessings, life lessons, hopes and dreams for the future, as well as love and forgiveness with your family, friends and community. The Ethical Will can be a combination of thoughts and ideas, from a detailed written set of instructions to a simple list of ideas, to one or more recordings, created for your loved ones. The Ethical Will is created intentionally to last beyond your lifetime.
An Example….
“Whether I am present or not, I hope that as you live out your own lives so that you can maintain the balance of the familiar and the unfamiliar by creating a solid base from which you can securely approach your options and enjoy what you have created. Along these lines, I hope that you will stay connected to your parents, grandparents and siblings, maintain a sense of being a part of an extended family, build a web of friendships and maintain them over time, commit to being financially secure, build a base of skills so that you are adaptable in the workplace, develop an area which you can invest yourself with passion, read a lot, value the spiritual, commit yourself to things and people, get in the habit of good communication, be a citizen of the world, be respectful of everyone you meet and seek out those who are older and more experiences. Remember always that my love lives inside of you.”
Creating your own Ethical Will consists of answering questions such as, “If you could look fifty years into the future, what do you want to see with regard to your family?” and “How valuable is it to you that your inheritance is used wisely?” With an Ethical Will you are sharing your desires of living a good life. Essentially the Ethical Will is a container to hold all of the lessons you have learned in order to pass them on to the others who may benefit from your wisdom. The Ethical Will allows each of us to honor our closest relationships.
Since the Ethical Will is a non-legal document often prepared by the non-attorney, it is common for there to be discrepancies between it and the formal legal documents. A disclaimer is highly recommended, and we strongly recommend having the Ethical Will reviewed by an attorney so that the information contained in the Ethical Will does not contradict the legal directions.
Legacy Planning can be done at any time in your life, although there are some poignant times when it might be considered: Engaged Couples, Expectant/New Parents, Divorcing Couples, Growing Families, Empty-Nesters, Middle Age and Beyond, and End of Life.
Your estate plan is great for transitioning your financial wealth to the next generation, but your overall wealth is so much more. An Ethical Will includes your intellectual, spiritual and human assets. By helping you create an Ethical Will, you are protecting what matters – who you are and what is important to you.
Strohschein Law Group is offering a free workshop series on the Ethical Will and the Legacy Notebook on April 23rd and 30th, respectively. RSVP today by calling 630-377-3241 to take advantage of the free training on how to ensure your legacy.