There’s more than one way to share a legacy – in addition to financial and property assets, we pass on a biological legacy (genetics and health), and a legacy of values (faith and culture). The National Institute of Medicine recommends that clinicians discuss ethical will creation with their patients, and a review of published literature on the subject revealed a number of different benefits: Ethical wills can be part of client-centered, values-based financial planning.
- Helping clients write an ethical will is a way for home health care professionals to help patients find meaning near the end of life.
- Physicians can tailor end-of-life care using the expressed values and wishes of their patients.
- Ethical wills are a way to leave a unique and personal blessing for each loved survivor.
- Hopes and dreams for grandchildren can be expressed.
- Sharing life’s lessons and stories can be a means to cope with HIV-related stigma.
At Geyer Law, we help clients incorporate their values into their estate planning. Sometimes that involves designing a trust in which funds are earmarked for a specific purpose. For example, grandparents can pass along their religious values by funding children or grandchildren’s religious education.
On an even deeper level, our Indiana estate planning attorneys realize that, wealthy or not, people have the desire to leave a legacy of ideas and experiences, which may take the form of family in-person or digital “conference”, even a video tape, allowing elders to share important life lessons they’ve gleaned and which they’d like to pass on to “emotional beneficiaries”.
An early example of an ethical will is found in the Bible, with Jacob gathering his sons around his bedside, telling them how to live after he is gone. However, unlike traditional wills, as the Sinai Memorial Chapel in San Francisco explains, ethical wills don’t need to wait until death is imminent; they can be shared informally at any point during one’s lifetimes, “bringing families together to reflect on their history and to hear first-hand from a loved one about what they care about.” Those thoughts and conversations can then “become a part of the family fabric going forward.”
– by Ronnie of the Rebecca W. Geyer blog team
