Ethical Will

This eform provides:

• an ethical will to help you leave a message to loved ones
• documentation to assist you in flushing out your thoughts
• and more

This ethical will can be used in all 50 States and Washington, D.C.

An ethical will is not a legal document. It does not need to be notarized or even signed. An ethical will is less a will and really a personal statement that you want to leaved someone. It can be anyone of your choosing, but is generally used to leave a message to loved ones to help them deal with your death. Sometimes ethical wills are used to say things that you could not say while you were alive. This can include the passing on of knowledge that you have acquired during your lifetime, family history (of illness and immigration), what you hope for you loved ones after you die, and/or to explain your views on what will happen after you die. The ethical will is generally not used to explain (in long detail at least) of why you are or are not leaving property to a loved one. That should be done in an explanation letter.

In this packet is a sample ethical will to help you get started with the common things that you might want to say to a loved one. It is customizable and it can help you get started by providing some structure to your thoughts. An ethical will is a deeply personal matter and each letter should convey a personal connection.

In this packet is an Executive Summary that details background information on the ethical will. There are no State Specific Information because the ethical will is not a legal document and can be used anywhere. This packet does include a checklist to help you complete the sample ethical will. The Checklist details how to use the packet and tasks to complete. The Walkthrough Instructions provide an explanation of the parts of the sample form. The packet comes in Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word, and Rich Text formats.

Below are common questions, with answers.

What is an ethical will?

An ethical will is a statement that you make to loved ones. It is not a legal document and it can be in any format you wish. The most common format is to write a letter with a message. The message can be about anything and as long or as short as you want. Most people leave a message that helps the reader deal with your death and provides the reader some knowledge on some of the things that you have learned throughout your life and what the reader means to you. The ethical will is sometimes referred to as a legacy letter.

What is the benefit of creating an ethical will? Can I not create one and get away with it? Do I really need it?

An ethical will is not mandatory by any laws and in most cases an ethical will is not recognized by a court. So you can certainly get away with not creating one. The reason why you would want to create an ethical will (the benefit, if you will) is to help your loved ones with your death. This is going to be a hard time for them and leaving a last message can help them. You can leave a message that includes things that you wished you could have said during your lifetime and/or pass on family history.

Is this ethical will a legal document? Is it legal?

No, and an ethical will is generally not recognized in any court because the ethical will, at most, will only contain your own signature and no one else's. There is very little legal reliability in the document.

Why use this ethical will? Is this ethical will all that different from something I create myself?

This packet was created specifically to help you structure what you want to say, to help you get started, and provide a launching point for what you might want to say to loved ones. An ethical will is deeply personal and it can be difficult to get started in what you want to say or even know what you would want to say. For those reasons, we have created this ethical will as a fill-in-the-blanks example of what you might want to say. Since the forms are fully customizable, you can add or remove as much as you need.

Is this a legacy letter? What is the difference between an ethical will and a legacy letter?

A legacy letter is another name for an ethical will. There is no difference outside of the differences in the names.

How will my loved ones get the ethical will after I die?

Your ethical will becomes part of your estate and you will leave instructions to your executor on what to do about the ethical will. You can instruct your executor to mail the letter, personally deliver the letter, and/or read the letter openly to the person the ethical will is addressed to. The ethical will can be read once and then destroyed or can be given to the person named.

Why would I buy this eform when I can get the information out there on the internet for free? Why is this ethical will worth it?

This ethical will can help you get organized. There is certainly a lot of information out on the internet. Some of it is helpful and some of it is simply not relevant. Our forms help to greatly reduce confusion by providing quick-access to the information needed to get the job done. In turn, this could prevent a writer's block. Having a good sample is generally a good idea to help you get down what you want and not have to make repeated corrections over and over. The more clarity your ethical will has, the more your message in the ethical will can come across. This packet includes a sample ethical will which is meant to make your job a bit easier and help the ideas to start flowing. Since the forms are written by a licensed attorney you can benefit from a lawyer's true trade-skill, structured writing.

Break the writer's block or starting from scratch or using scattered inaccurate ethical will that are written by non-attorneys. Express your rights. Gain peace of mind without spending a fortune.

Table of Contents:

1. Executive Summary

2. Checklist

3. Walkthrough Instructions

4. Sample Form

Total number of pages in this packet: 7.

Formats include Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word, and Rich Text. No physical copy is included. Copies can be edited and printed.