Wealth of Wisdom

CHAPTER 27Creating an Ethical Will

Scotty McLennan

One's “last will and testament” generally deals with material things, with property, rather than passing on a vision of the qualitative dimensions of life that matter to one personally. An “ethical will”—a values-based letter to your loved ones that accompanies your legally drafted will—is concerned with relationships, with love and friendship, and with the profoundly human aspects of living a good life. It is about your legacy in terms of your life's deepest purpose and what you would most want to be remembered for.

Such a document can be produced in a single sitting of a half hour or so, or it can be drafted and re-drafted over weeks, months, and years. It can be all on one page, or it can take the form of a larger composition. It could be a place to clear the air, especially if you think there are significant misunderstandings with others or if you want to acknowledge shortcomings of your own that you regret and would like to make amends for. It can be used as a vehicle to express gratitude for the positive elements of your life, including people and experiences that have really made a difference for you. It can move from acknowledging the past, through celebrating the present, to anticipating the future—bestowing hopes and dreams and blessings on those who will remain after you die.

Description

Ethical wills go back to biblical times. A classic example is found in Genesis 49:1–33 when the patriarch Jacob “called his sons, ...