Monday, September
6 2010
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Monday, September
6 2010
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Announcing a new acquisition!!
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What's New at Forte for the year 2007 May 2007 - Creating an Ethical Will By Forte News Department You may or may not have heard the
term “ethical will.” But, for those who
care about making their values and ethics part of their legacy, it is a tool to
consider when planning your estate. Unlike a “last will and testament”,
which provides for the distribution of a person’s material assets, or a “living
will”, which contains instructions for how you want to be treated medically at
the end of your days, an “ethical will” is designed to let someone preserve and
share their values, principles and beliefs for heirs and future generations,
though it’s not legally binding. According to Personal Legacy
Advisors’ Web site, an ethical will is a letter that transmits the non-material
assets that are also of great importance: your values, your story, the lessons
life has taught you and the other information that is too valuable to risk
being lost. Your ethical will is the
tool that enables you to address the question, “What do I want my loved ones to
know?” Financial writer Bruce Fraser says,
“As a concept, ethical wills are not new.
The first written reference to ethical wills occurs in both the Hebrew
and Christian Bibles. Examples are Genesis,
chapter 49, and The Book of John, chapters 15-18. Over time, they evolved into written documents.” While ethical wills were
traditionally shared after death, along with the reading of an individual’s
last will and testament, today they are often shared during the author’s
life. Exact figures aren’t available
for how many people are writing ethical wills but they are on the rise based on
increased Web activity and sales of ethical will resources. They have gained impetus particularly in the
wake of tragedies like the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Fraser shares these tips and tactics
in a November 2006 Financial Advisor
magazine article: Why create one?
People are inclined to write an ethical will when facing a challenging
event, or at a turning point in life.
Some examples are facing the loss of a loved one, birth of a grandchild,
expectant parents, becoming an empty-nester or approaching the end of
life. Other reasons to create an
ethical will include: -
Your
reflections will confirm what’s important and renew appreciation of your life
to date -
You
will create a personal message to those you love, of priceless value in the
event of your absence -
If you
do not tell your personal (and family) stories, they may be lost forever -
Your
material assets can be given within a personal context -
You
will mitigate confusion and hurt feelings with a personal explanation of
potentially controversial elements of your legal will -
Your
spirit will be expressed on paper, living beyond you in a timeless way -
Your
words will link the past, present and future generations of your family -
You
will enjoy peace of mind knowing the most important things will have been said. Pros and cons.
The pros of an ethical include having an opportunity to influence future
generations. Through the process of
writing an ethical will, the writer can gain self-knowledge and come to an
understanding of what’s most important to him or her. This is valuable information not only for their families but
their professional advisers as well.
Another pro is that ethical wills are private documents. Unlike a will, which if admitted to probate
will become a matter of public record, an ethical will is a private
communication and will not be made public unless the author (or recipient) so
desires. The con is that an ethical
will is not enforceable in a court of law.
Those who want to provide specific instructions, such as who is to
receive which asset or how assets are to be distributed and under what
conditions, would need to put the instruction in a will or trust. Setting up an ethical will.
Ethical wills come in a variety of forms, from a short letter to a
lengthy autobiographical statement, from an audio-recorded message to a bound
album. There are three basic ways to
create an ethical will. 1. Begin with an outline and list of suggestions. Once you’ve created a rough draft, you can
review and personalize it as much as you wish. 2. Begin with guided writing exercises. For example, start with phrases such as
“From my grandparents, I learned…” or “I am most grateful for…” 3. Begin with a blank sheet of paper and write down whatever
is relevant about your thoughts, experiences and feelings. This is an open-ended approach. Eventually you should be able to create a
comfortable structure for your ethical will.
For one-on-one help, an organization like the Association of Personal
Historians may be of assistance. Other tips from Personal Legacy Advisors include the
following: -
Start
today: If you were not here tomorrow, what is the most important thing you
would not want left unsaid? Write it
down - now you've begun -
Relax:
You are not trying to write for the Pulitzer Prize. The letter is a gift of yourself, written for those you love -
Ask
yourself: What do I want to make sure my loved ones know and have in writing -
Take
it topic by topic: Don't try to write it all at once -
Be
yourself: You cannot bequeath what you never owned to begin with -
Be
careful, be loving. The reach of this
letter is unknowable. Sharing
your will. It’s a good idea
to share your ethical will not only with family and friends, but also with your
financial adviser and attorney. Knowing
what you value and what’s important to you will help them to develop a
personalized plan that can help you to leverage your values in the future.
An ethical will speaks to one’s posterity or descendants
long after the legal will has been probated and forgotten. Of note, an ethical will is a dynamic
document. Just as a will or living
trust document needs to be revisited so does an ethical will, because events
occur in ones' life that have an impact on ones' value systems. -30- April 2007 — This column is produced by the Financial Planning
Association, the membership organization for the financial planning community,
and is provided by David W. Henion, a local member of FPA | ||||||||||||||
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