StoryCatcher® is The Ethical Will App

An Ethical Will Video allows you to pass on and share your values, beliefs, life lessons and hopes. Easily create and share an Ethical Will Video using StoryCatcher’s great questions to ask in the “family“ theme. Tap “Interview Tips“ to see the questions.

Share: Here is an ethical will video my friend Jon and I created using S t o r y C a t c h e r | for iPhone to share a valuable life lesson with his sons, Fin and Matt. More on Ethical Wills below the video.

In my experience, the term “Ethical Will” trips people up, gets them curious and also a little confused. The way I like to explain it is this:

“A financial planner will help you arrange and organize how to pass on and preserve your material wealth, whereas an Ethical Will serves to help you arrange, organize and pass on the essence of who you are.” ~ April Bell, Personal Historian

Ethical Wills are a centuries old Jewish tradition and are a way to pass on your values, beliefs and philosophies. This can include lessons learned, hopes and even regrets. You can do it in writing, via audio or via video. The format you choose is up to you.

Here’s what excites me about video:

• We get to see the essence of who the person is, that sparkle in her eye, the sound of his voice, her laughter and the emotion behind his spoken words.
• With StoryCatcher, we can easily add photos from the past and also screen text to state facts to support the story, such as dates or the full names of people and places referenced
• We meet the younger generation where they’re at
• It’s fun and easy to share

To record and share an Ethical Will Video, tap on the “family” theme when creating a New Story and you’ll find great questions to answer or to ask an interviewee.[/caption]

What exactly is an Ethical Will Video?

When I first started capturing people’s values and stories on video in 2008, I never would have imagined that technology would evolve so quickly, allowing anyone to easily record and share life stories or ethical will video on the fly. But here we are and it’s not only possible, I’ve had the honor to co-create an iPhone app to help you do just that!

Creating your own Ethical Will Video:

If you’re the type who likes to jump in and get started right away, refining as you go, download S t o r y C a t c h e r | for iPhone in the Apple App Store and you’ll be off and running. If you’re the type who likes to research, ponder and get ultra clear before expressing yourself, I highly recommend Dr. Barry K. Baines’ book Ethical Wills: Putting Your Values On Paper.

Imagine if you had the chance to hear and experience what hopes. dreams and wisdom your great-grandfather or great-grandmother had to share with you when he or she was your age. You can contribute that, right now, for future generations by creating an ethical will video. What better gift is there than that?

Blog Post Author:

April Bell is a Professional Personal Historian and founder at Tree of Life Legacies. She has been operating her storytelling and wisdom keeping project in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the United States since 2008. April utilizes her innate skills as an active listener to connect with others and draw out their stories and authentic, heartfelt values to be preserved and shared for generations to come. Her clients include individuals, families and organizations who value the power of story. In an effort to provide the gift of video storytelling to the world at large via a simple, fun and easy to use tool, she and her business partner, iPhone app coder Urs Brauchli, released StoryCatcher® for iPhone. Available on the Apple App Store.