Estate Planning

Leaving an Ethical Will

By Hull & Hull LLP

Following up on Allan Socken’s blog of March 31, 2008 entitled “What is Legacy Coaching”, I came across an article in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel Journal entitled “Is Your (Ethical) Will in Order?” (2008) 33 ACTEC Journal 154 by Zoe Hicks. In her article, the author reviews what an Ethical Will is, what types of topics are normally covered, the format of the Ethical Will, and how estate planning practitioners have embraced the concept of advising clients with respect to leaving an Ethical Will.

Essentially, an Ethical Will is a testament of what you want your survivors to know, rather than what material assets you want them to have. Ethical Wills can include expressions of wisdom, values and beliefs of the “testator”, reminders of heritage, apologies, explanations of actions taken or not taken, regrets, expressions of love and gratitude, and words of encouragement.

Ms. Hicks sets out numerous extracts from Ethical Wills so that the reader can get a flavour of the types of matters that an Ethical Will can to address. She concludes by observing that an Ethical Will can be a valuable exercise for both the writer and the recipient.

For more information, read her article, or visit www.ethicalwill.com. This site explains the concept, and provides several examples of Ethical Wills in different forms. 

Have a great weekend.

Paul Trudelle

Full post as published by Toronto Estate Law Blog on April 25, 2008 (boomark / email).