Last week I discussed how to provide for beneficiaries under 18 years of age. Today I am going to talk about how to treat adult children in your spiritual ethical will. The main difference is how much responsibility you can bestow on your children when they are minors and when they are adults.
If your children are already over 18 then you don’t need to name a legal guardian. However, you may want to provide them with the name of a person to act as their spiritual or life coach. This person can be a family friend, a religious leader or a philosopher.
The next issue that you will want to address is the distribution of your estate. Most states are going to require you to pass on the bulk of your estate to a surviving spouse first, but if you don’t have a spouse because they have already passed away or if you are single, then you can pass on all or a portion of your estate to your child. If you have more than one child then you will want to denote in your spiritual ethical will what percentage of your estate or what items from your estate needs to go to each child.
For adult children that are old enough to accept the responsibility, you can name them as your will’s executor. If you do this make sure you leave them a special letter that lets them know how you feel about them, what you wish for their future and how you want your estate handled.
When your children turn 18 you will need to revise your official ethical will and provide your adult children with more control over their inheritance. Generally this will mean removing the clause in your spiritual ethical will document that deals with legal guardians and trustees. Next week return for a discussion on how to take care of your pets in your spiritual ethical will.