legal sanity

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Last summer, I posted about ethical wills. Here’s an update on these documents that help us look beyond the transfer of material wealth to consider the conveyance of our “wisdom, insight, experience, and similarly related intangibles.” According to the piece, the use of ethical wills can be traced back to biblical times. The modern-day version comes in a variety of forms, but is “typically prepared as a written letter” addressing “family members, friends, and even organizations.” There’s also no prescribed content, although an ethical will can contain “insights into happiness, business success, and dealing with difficult times and difficult people. Historical information that might otherwise be forever lost can be transmitted” as well. After listing some key questions to ask clients interested in such documents, the article concludes with the observation that people usually find the ethical will-making process a “positive emotional experience.” It gives them “an often-unexpected sense of clarity (as to what is most important to a person) as well as a sense of ‘completion,’ particularly as a parent.”