Even though Baby Boomers have fought mightily against the aging process, as they near retirement age, more and more of them are giving serious thought to getting their affairs in order. For instance, they are creating wills to help their loved ones avoid probate and to make sure their wishes are carried out. It’s part of a deeply ingrained Boomer character trait—responsibility. Even though Boomers enjoy the best health of any previous senior generation, they are still pragmatic about the inevitable.
Many Baby Boomers are also going a step farther and creating ethical wills, but ethical wills have no legal bearing on transferring assets. The purpose of an ethical will is meant to pass something on (in writing) to your loved ones that transcend material wealth. It’s meant to pass along the values you hold dear, and values have always been important to Boomers—more important than worldly possessions, in fact.
In many ways, ethical wills require more consideration than standard wills, which can be relatively straightforward. They are often meant to be read after a funeral service to touch loved ones in a very personal way to remind them of a person’s values, and of whom they were as a unique individual—at the very deepest level. Very often, ethical wills become family treasures, passed on from generation to generation.
Ethical wills can represent opportunities to ask forgiveness of family members or friends for wrongs that have been committed over the years—often seeking to resolve conflicts that couldn’t seem to be resolved during life. Ethical wills also can be used to forgive other people, as well. Either way, they can be a wonderful tool for healing relationships and giving a sense of closure to those who are left behind.
Some people take the process to an even more personal level by creating individualized ethical wills for each member of their family as well as for close friends and business acquaintances. These wills can be very powerful, since they’ll have a very special and unique meaning to each person who receives one.
If creating an ethical will sounds appealing to you, you’ll find lots of free information about them on the Internet. Just type “ethical will” into your browser and you’ll find thousands of sites that can help you get started. Once you’ve gathered your information, the rest will be up to you. You’ll need to sit down and give some serious thought to what has been most important to you over the course of your lifetime.
You’ll need to decide what it is that you want to pass on to future generations of your family, which is a big responsibility in itself. However, the good news is that your words will undoubtedly be treasured by your loved ones, even if you haven’t said what you wanted to say as well as you would have hoped. Just knowing you cared enough to pass along your thoughts, love, and values will be enough.
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