An “ethical will” is a way for someone to share personal information with family members. Ethical wills are often written by people at turning points and transitions in their lives and when facing challenging life situations. There is no prescribed content to an ethical will, but some topics that might be considered include:
- Important family traditions
- Family or religious ceremonies that have been meaningful
- Things that were learned from older and younger generation family members and others
- Values that the author wishes to pass on to the next generation
- Meaningful changes in the world that have occurred over the author’s lifetime
- Major changes that occurred in the author’s personal circumstances
- Important decisions that were made that made a difference
- What the author might have done differently
- What the author hopes people will remember about him or her
- Feelings that the author has had that might not have been shared with others
- What has not been accomplished that the author had hoped to accomplish
- Hopes for the future
You may want to specify who should and should not read the ethical will and may choose to prepare different versions for different family members. The contents of an ethical will, which have no legal standing, are often shared with loved ones before death, or the writer may prefer that it be read posthumously. If you prepare an ethical will that is intended to be read after death, be sure to make family members aware of its location, perhaps as a part of a letter of instruction.
Smart Money Tips
- Make the most of online banking. Filling out checks to pay bills is so passé. Just ask someone who was born within the last 40 years. It used to be that you could pay many bills online through your bank checking account. Now, it’s even easier with ACH (Automated Clearing House) payments that can be made directly to the vendor either when you receive a bill or by automatically arranging payments whenever a bill comes due. Easy-peasy, even for those who are not comfortable with computers. It doesn’t take long to learn how to do it and thereby reclaim a lot of time in your life that would otherwise be wasted paying bills.
- How much house do you need? Perhaps you’ve read some reports that discuss a trend among people ranging in age from millennials to retirees who are opting for smaller homes. Having a smaller home means less time cleaning and keeping it up. Cost savings are a big inducement as homeowners like to have the wherewithal to spend money on things unrelated to the home, like travel. For older downsizers, a small home might dissuade a family member from moving into your guest bedroom. These are but a few arguments in favor of considering a smaller domicile. Write down the pros and cons of a more modest manse compared with a larger one and you’ll likely find that the arguments in favor of a larger place are scant.
Food for Thought
Pond’s Law of Incapacity:
If you become incapacitated without designating a financial guardian, the court must select one, and the judge will choose the least trustworthy child or other relative to take over your financial affairs.
Money Can Be Funny
Speaking of junk bonds:
The only time to buy these is on a day with no “y” in it.
-Warren Buffett
Word of the Week
vaticinate (va-TI-si-neyt) – To speak like a seer or prophet; to foretell the future.
Origin: From the Latin vaticinari meaning “to foretell, forebode, or prophesy.” This, in turn, comes from the word vates meaning “a poet or bard who is divinely inspired.”
If tarot readers really could vaticinate accurately, they could become rich from predicting winning lottery numbers.