Your family knows your habits and moods, but do they know your core values? An ethical will would tell them. Ethical wills aren't new -- they're in the Bible -- but they're catching on as those now in their 50s yearn to preserve their parent's wisdom and pass on their own. "We want to leave a legacy beyond our assests," says Dr Barry Baines, author of Ethical Wills: Put in Your Values on Paper. Wills can be any length and shared any time. They're as different as the individuals writing them: Baines tells his kids the importance of religion and respect. Retired lawyer Michael Greenspan, 61, wrote 18 life rules, including "hold on to true friends" and "dance like no ones watching."

Remember, these wills are not legal documents. Ethicalwill.com has tips.