(Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog) The murder mystery Knives Out appears to be the surprise hit of the 2019 holiday season, racking up $70 million at the box office and numerous award nominations. The patriarch of a wealthy family, Harlan Thrombey played by Christopher Plummer, is found dead. It is soon discovered that just prior to his demise, the patriarch had changed his estate plan. During the plot's twists and turns, several concepts of estate planning our mentioned, including undue influence, slayer statutes, and will contestation.
Par for the course for Hollywood, one dramatic scene in particular in the movie is the titular will reading of the recently deceased. In a wood paneled library, the estate attorney sits behind the patriarch’s desk and reads the document. Many movie goers might be surprised that this is not an actual event. Paula Leibovitz Goodwin, partner in the Personal Planning Group at Perkins Coie in San Francisco, says that, “In the past there have been some that I have disappointed when I told them that there is no will reading in real life.”
Other concepts brought up by the movie are closer to reality. Christopher J. Burns, partner in Estate and Tax at Henson & Efron in Minneapolis, Minnesota, comments that due to increased longevity and failure to keep estate plans updated, “Contesting wills is becoming increasingly common." Undue influence is a common red flag, especially when a will is dramatically changed such as what occurs in the movie: natural heirs are disinherited and suddenly a caretaker is the sole beneficiary.
Though the term slayer statute seem farfetched and created from the mind of a Hollywood producer, it is a real premise in estate law. Under a state that has such a statute, an individual cannot inherit if they intentionally killed the deceased for the purpose of inheriting. “Some states apply the rule only to those convicted of homicide, others apply it to manslaughter, with some allowing the 'slayer’s' descendants to receive what the 'slayer' would have inherited, and others cutting off the slayer’s family line,” explains Caitlin Carey, an estate planning attorney in the Personal Planning Group at Perkins Coie.
