Ethical Wills
The topic of ethical wills came up in a talk tonight. Many folks were unaware of them and their purpose. They have nothing to do with a last will and testament. Ethical wills are documents intended to be passed on to one's family. It is a legacy document that imparts ones values and traditions to their loved ones. The Hebrew name is Zava'ah, and these documents have long been a Jewish tradition to impart a spiritual legacy to children. They are now used in many faiths. Many death doulas work with their families on creating such a document - or film, story, and even mixed media methods.
Included below are some links to resources for constructing your own ethical will or to help someone else do the same. I am in no way affiliated with Everplans.com (other than the fact that I have used their free site), but I must recommend them as a great resource for end-of-life planning and can also help construct an ethical will.
My Jewish Learning published an article on ethical wills here.
Everplans offers a host of end-of-life and estate planning tools, as well as ethical will construction.
North Carolina State University's journal, The Forum, published a comprehensive article on ethical wills.
Personal Legacy Advisors provides examples of contemporary ethical wills.
Life Legacies also provides a brief overview of ethical wills along with examples.
