As Father’s day is approaching, we are seeing once again promotional deals and gift ideas advertised by stores. Sometimes it becomes a yearly routine to bring dad out or buy a gift for the dad. My children would often ask me what I want for Father’s day and I would usually tell them not to buy anything because I have everything I need.

I am at an age where I think more about what I can pass on to my children and grandchildren and not what I can receive from them. Most parents in their greying years will either have done or are thinking of doing an Estate Will. An Estate Will is a legal document and deals with all the technicalities of how the parents’ estate will be distributed in the event of their deaths.

I came across another type of Will recently – an Ethical Will. It is not a legal document, but is used to pass on personal values, beliefs, blessings, and advice to future generations. It is a way to tell stories and share your memories. It is to reveal the heart of the parents to the children. So often, parents bear the burden of their challenges in raising the family without sharing with their children while they are growing up. Of course, many problems and challenges get resolved over time, and somehow the passing of time leave little occasions to pass these life lessons and memories to their children or children’s children.

An Ethical Will can also be used as a love letter from our heart that we rarely express to our children – who we are and who we became, what were the events that shaped us. It can also complement our Estate Will by giving the guiding principles that is often not revealed in an Estate Will.

An Ethical Will can be one or two pages long or written as a book. I did not realize that I had written a form of Ethical Will when I wrote and shared my own personal story in a book to pass to my children until I came across articles about Ethical Will. You can search and find examples of writing an Ethical Will on the Internet. Here is a link to some examples of writing an Ethical Will

https://ourlifecelebrations.com/tag/ethical-wills/

You will leave a true legacy and be remembered for your love for your children and future generations.

Here is a good video clip that you might like to watch from “Father’s Love Letter” (Source: http://www.fathersloveletter.com/).