Ethical wills: Have any clients who might want to pass on another kind of legacy in addition to the monetary?

As I wrote in the past about ethical wills:

Another helpful tip for the right clients might be to suggest the writing of an ethical will. While legal wills direct how property should be distributed, ethical wills pass on a person's values.

The new edition of the e-newsletter written by my friend Barry Baines, MD, on the topic of ethical wills (subscribe by sending a blank e-mail here) contains a number of articles recently carried by the media about ethical wills. (See links to some of those articles below.) The practice of writing an ethical will continues to garner both attention and participation.

What's in an ethical will? From Baines's Web site on ethical wills:

Every ethical will is as unique as the person writing it.

After reading a number of ethical wills, there are common themes that run through many of them. Older ethical wills contained burial instructions, blessings, and personal and spiritual values.

Here's a partial list of common themes seen in more modern ethical wills:

• Important personal values and beliefs
• Important spiritual values
• Hopes and blessings for future generations
• Life's lessons
• Love
• Forgiving others and asking for forgiveness

The ethical will site holds many resources, including Why Write an Ethical Will?, How to Write an Ethical Will, and upcoming seminars. Baines's book Ethical Wills: Putting Your Values on Paper is also a comprehensive and why-I-should-write-mine-soon resource.

Now for some of the recent media articles on ethical wills:

Chicago Tribune: "Love letters from the grave -- not just for soldiers or the deceased"

Boston Globe: "A foundation built on tragedy" (go to page 2 for ethical wills)

OC Register: "Every life has touched another in some way"

NumisMaster.com: "Ethical Will Gives Chance to Explain Yourself"

La Crosse Tribune: "Ethical wills: Valuable advice"

WCF Courier: "Priceless legacy"

The Arizona Republic: "Finishing touches on a full life"

San Diego Union-Tribune: "Ethical wills leave lasting impressions"

Read some of these stories to see why you may want to suggest writing an ethical will to some of your clients. An ethical will is not just valuable for survivors; the process of writing one is a beneficial life check-up (and often a life adjustment or new life compass) for the still-living (regardless of age) writer. Have you written yours?