So Grows the Tree Creating an Ethical Will : The Legacy of Your Beliefs and Values, Life Lessons and Hopes for the Future

You've been thinking about your legacy. You think it's measured in dollars and cents. It's not. Your real legacy is your beliefs and values,life lessons and hopes for the future.

An Ethical Will is the expression of that legacy. It's a message of what you believe, what you know and what you hope for, and it's meant to be shared with loved ones. The Ethical Will is a tradition that's as relevant today as when it was first practiced 3,500 years ago by Jacob in the Book of Genesis.

In this economy, investments have diminished and many people are questioning whether they will have any wealth to pass on to heirs. The good news is that 77 percent of Baby Boomers and their parents think that the legacy of sharing values and life lessons is very important to receive and provide more important than financial assets and real estate, according to The Allianz Life Insurance Company's American Legacies Study.

An Ethical Will can be used for sharing core beliefs and values, self-reflection, storytelling, reconciliation, identifying future aspirations, estate planning, charitable giving and even making a plan for health care at the end of life.

You ve thought about sharing the lessons of your life but you didn t know where to begin. In SO GROWS THE TREE Creating an Ethical Will you'll learn that when it comes to creating an Ethical Will, the act of watching is more important than the art of writing. What reliable values have you observed throughout your life? What lessons did you learn? What are your aspirations going forward? SO GROWS THE TREE is really a workshop in a book: it shares the amazing history of Ethical Wills, the importance of leaving a legacy of values and easy-to-use methods for crafting a legacy to share with loved ones. Plus, SO GROWS THE TREE has a lay flat binding that makes it easy to take notes whenever inspiration strikes, and the book has extensive Endnotes that link you to lots of other useful resources.

Life is a series of transitions: birth, death, divorce, separation, empty-nesting, a career change, a serious or chronic illness, retirement. Whether a time to count blessings or to mourn a loss, each and every one is an opportunity to gain and perhaps share wisdom. You may choose to write a simple letter, use your talents to craft an embellished photo album or scrapbook or get really creative and fashion a slideshow or an Ethical Cookbook containing the best of your family recipes and stories about those unforgettable cooks. SO GROWS THE TREE shows you how to identify the core values of your life and then how to express that legacy in the language and format that reflects the real you.

Readers of SO GROWS THE TREE will discover:
The historical and contemporary use of an Ethical Will to leave a legacy of beliefs, life lessons and hopes for your loved ones.
How to use an Ethical Will to guide your plan for end-of-life care, estate distribution and Footprint Philanthropy to reflect your core values and beliefs.
How to honor another person by creating an Ethical Tribute or Ethical Eulogy.
An easy-to-use guide for creating and sharing your own unique Ethical Will.
The variety of media available to express your Ethical Will and how to create an Ethical photo album, scrapbook, video, audio recording, genealogy, family cookbook or simple letter.

An Ethical Will is the message of what you believe, what you know and what you hope for. Let SO GROWS THE TREE show you how to create and share your real legacy with your loved ones.

Jo Kline Cebuhar has been an attorney and business owner for 25 years. Jo' s loss of loved ones to death, both sudden and lingering, and her service as chairman of Iowa s largest hospice led her to write her first award-winning book, Last things first, just in case... The practical guide to Living Wills and Durable Powers of Attorney for Health Care. SO GROWS THE TREE Creating an Ethical Will is the natural follow-up, and Jo maintains her reputation for tackling a daunting subject and treating her readers to a user-friendly how-to guide. Jo has filled SO GROWS THE TREE with captivating stories and heartwarming examples of Ethical Wills throughout history.