| Writing an ethical will may seem
difficult. However, it can be viewed as the writing of a love letter to
your family. Ethical Wills can include personal and spiritual values, hopes,
experiences, love, and forgiveness. It may well be one of the most cherished
gifts you can give to your family.
Here are three basic approaches for
creating your ethical will.
Approach #1
Using an outline structure and a list
of items to choose from. This is by far the easiest way to get started
and it can build your confidence quickly. You can create a rough draft
to work from in less than an hour. The Ethical
Will Writing Guide Workbook and The Ethical
Will Writing Guide software were developed for this approach. This
approach is also covered in Ethical Wills:
Putting your values on paper.
Approach #2
Using guided writing exercises to
help you create content for your ethical will. The
Ethical Will Resource Kit contains several guided exercises to help
you. Ethical Wills: Putting your values on
paper contains even more exercises.
Here are some ideas to help you get
started.
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Over time, write down ideas --a few words
or a sentence or two about things like:
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My beliefs and opinions
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Things I did to act on my values
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Something I learned from grandparents
/ parents / siblings / spouse / children
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Something I learned from experience
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Something I am grateful for
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My hopes for the future
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Write about important events in your
life
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Imagine that you only had a limited time
left to live. What would you regret not having done?
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Save items that articulate your feelings,
e.g., quotes, cartoons, etc
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Review what you've collected after a
few weeks or months
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Clump related items together -- patterns
will emerge
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Revise and expand the related categories
into paragraphs
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Arrange the paragraphs in an order that
makes sense to you
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Add an introduction and conclusion
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Put this aside for a few weeks and then
review and revise
Approach #3
Starting with a blank sheet of paper.
This is the most open-ended approach.
Keeping a journal or diary is an excellent way to write about your thoughts,
feelings, and experiences. Over time, review what you've written.
Themes will emerge from which you can create a comfortable structure for
your ethical will.
All of these approaches are covered
comprehensively in the book, Ethical
Wills: Putting Your Values on Paper. In addition, you can benefit
from any of the readings listed in "the bookstore".
Want to start right away? Click here for
a special combination package offer of The
Ethical Will Writing Guide Software and a signed copy of Ethical
Wills: Putting Your Values on Paper.
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