Ethical Will FAQ's

What is an Ethical Will? Just as you leave a will for the distribution of any material possession’s you might have, you can leave an Ethical Will to share with others, the legacy of your values, philosophy of life, and what gets you through the day. Such a testament may include the important things you have observed while on life’s journey, some descriptions of the things and people you have come to value and why, and the bits of practical and reflective wisdom you believe would be of use to others. It is a summary and meaningful legacy of your life. An ethical will might include an essay, poetry, personal letters, or just about anything that can be seen or heard.

Why write an Ethical Will now? Just as with a regular will, you should write it now, and have it known before you die. More thoughts on the Ethical will

Who would want to read my Ethical Will? People who know you, your family, friends, acquaintances, co-workers, and the world at large. Many people are perplexed and searching for ways to live, …to give meaning to their life. Perhaps something you have learned along your path can help someone else clarify their thinking about their own journey through life.

But I’m not a religious person? An ethical will is a human document that can illuminate the unique experience of life that all of us encounter. Apart from our individual contribution to human culture, this is as close to immortality as any of us can expect to get. What you have learned may help someone else grapple with the vexing questions of existence.

For me, my religion answers all questions! But you may have found certain passages in your religious books that particularly helped you; or experiences of spiritual fulfillment you may wish to share with others. There may be an inspiring story, or stories, you believe might motivate people to consider important changes.

Can I change my Ethical Will? Of course. As we continue our journey through life, we are constantly exposed to new ideas, new information, new experiences. The pace of change in our time, requires us to be prepared to alter the way we view the world. Just as you want to keep your legal will up to date, you may want to review and change your Ethical Will as well. As you review your own site from time to time, it gives you a chance to think over what your philosophy of life is, what has become truly important to you, to consider new perspectives that are consequent to our maturing personalities.

What happens to my site after I die? When we are notified of your death, we will put the date of your death on your site; if your obituary is included, we will also post that. Your Ethical Will remains available on-line for the same number of years you’ve been a member. Of course, if we hear nothing, or you do not renew, we will archive your Ethical will. We will send out a reminder of your membership renewal as it comes due.

How much does this cost, and what does that buy me? The basic setup price is $35 (non-refundable) for the first year for the first legal sized page, $20 for each extra page, and $30 per year after that, with one free update every year. (You may change as much of the will as you wish, in fact you can rewrite the whole thing for your yearly update. If you wish to change information more frequently, there will be a $25 processing fee for each change.) Pages must be submitted to us in typewritten or printed form only. An extra charge will apply to transcribe from handwriting. This gets you a page attractively formatted in colors and graphic themes of your choice. It will be on the world wide web, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (except when we have to do maintenance on the system). Anyone, anywhere in the world who can access the web, can access your site. We register with all popular search engines. And you may inform family and friends, or the whole world about your site.

if you wish to include pictures, graphics, or other options, there are additional charges as follows:

Black and white picture/graphics - $12. per item Digital audio only- available
Color picture/graphics - $15. per item Video, with audio- available Other web services, such as a separate, “.com” address- available.

We don’t recommend a lot of graphics/pictures - with the current technology, people tire of waiting on large graphics and may not wait to visit your site. However, if art is an important part of your life, you may consider putting it on a separate page. Of course, technology marches on, and this may not be a problem in a few years. If you do want to include pictures, we can process and clean up old photographs. We can also scan in art work, and hand written manuscripts. As indicated above, audio and video elements may be included.

OK already, I’m ready to give the world my wisdom. How do I sign up? Click here to request more information

If you’re not ready to join, thanks for visiting our site. Please consider writing an Ethical Will anyway and leaving it to your heirs - they deserve to get more to remember you by, than mere possessions. ã Metrodirect 1999/4 Back to Metrodirect