LaGrange: 1023 W 55th St #200, LaGrange, IL 60525 | Deerfield: 770 Lake Cook Rd #100, Deerfield, IL 60015
LaGrange: 1023 W 55th St #200, LaGrange, IL 60525
Deerfield: 770 Lake Cook Rd #100, Deerfield, IL 60015
LaGrange: 1023 W 55th St #200, LaGrange, IL 60525
Deerfield: 770 Lake Cook Rd #100, Deerfield, IL 60015
Ethical Wills: The Heart of Your Estate Plan (Part 1)
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When we talk about estate planning, we usually talk about documents such as wills and trusts and focus on tools for transferring assets to the next generation, navigating tax laws, planning for potential incapacity, and leaving instructions for health care desires. However, standard estate planning documents don’t focus on another aspect of preparing for death that is also incredibly valuable: the values, lessons, and hopes that we wish to leave in writing for our loved ones. This is the purpose of an ethical will.
Ethical wills (also called “Letters of Intent, or “Legacy Letters”) are non-legal documents that focus on morals, beliefs, and reflections on your life, including both the highs and the lows. These documents share nonphysical but incredibly valuable treasure with those who love you most.
What is an Ethical Will?
While a traditional will or a trust directs how your physical assets will be distributed upon your passing, an ethical will serves as a way to give advice and guidance from your heart to your loved ones and to future generations. Ethical wills are not legally binding but can be incredibly personal and meaningful.
Ethical wills are not a new concept, and they were even mentioned in the Book of Genesis in the Bible and, traditionally, were recited orally to family members. In the Middle Ages, ethical wills were recorded in writing so the message would hopefully be preserved and shared with future generations.
Do you need an Ethical Will?
No, you do not need to have an ethical will. However, when you consider how much time, thought, and energy you have put into creating a traditional estate plan and deciding who will inherit which assets, it may also be meaningful and helpful for your loved ones to know how you made these decisions as well as knowing your hopes for the lives of your beneficiaries and how they may use the precious things you left for them.
Next week, I’ll write more about the content that you might include if you decide to create an ethical will.
For help with your estate plan, contact us at Wilson and Wilson Estate Planning and Elder Law, LLC at 708-482-7090.
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