Estate planning nightmares: Imagine gathering at an attorney’s office to hear the reading of a loved one’s will, only to discover that the deceased has left behind a video message revealing shocking family secrets. Or perhaps you’ve been named executor of an estate, only to discover that the beneficiaries are ready to do battle over every decision.
Hollywood loves a good inheritance dispute. Fortunately, movies and television can also teach us valuable lessons about avoiding these situations in real life.
In this episode of Mortality Movies, host Gail Rubin, The Doyenne of Death®, continues the discussion of estate planning with Albuquerque-area experts Justin Welch of RBC Wealth Management and death doula Brooke Nutting, a former CPA. Here’s the post about Part One. The panel explores six films and television programs that illustrate the financial, legal and emotional challenges families may encounter after a death.
Surprise! A Message from Beyond the Grave
In the dark comedy Eulogy (2004), a dysfunctional family gathers after the death of its patriarch. When they visit the attorney’s office, they discover that Grandpa has left behind some surprises, including a video message that adds to the family’s considerable turmoil.
The scene raises an interesting question: Do people actually leave video messages to accompany their wills?
While Hollywood loves the dramatic reveal, a video recording is generally not a substitute for a legally executed will. However, a personal video can supplement estate-planning documents by explaining decisions, sharing family history, or expressing affection for loved ones.
Such recordings require care. An explanation intended to provide reassurance might instead create confusion or conflict. It’s wise to discuss the idea with an estate-planning attorney before pressing Record.
When the Inheritance Is Rigged
Just Buried (2007) offers another variation on the video-will theme.
In this Canadian dark comedy, a young man inherits a funeral home from his estranged father, a gambler who apparently wanted to make certain his younger son would receive the business.
Rather than simply announcing his decision, Dad creates an elaborate video involving a spinning wheel to determine the beneficiary. Of course, he has to film multiple takes before the wheel produces his preferred result.
It’s a wonderfully absurd way to distribute an estate.
But the scene makes a serious point: Estate planning shouldn’t be a guessing game.
Clearly written, properly executed documents can help prevent uncertainty about who inherits what. And when business ownership is involved, the stakes can be especially high.
Leaving someone a business doesn’t necessarily mean that person wants it, knows how to operate it, or has the resources to keep it running.
What Happens to Investments Near the End of Life?
The classic film Being There (1979) stars Peter Sellers as Chance, a sheltered gardener whose simple observations are repeatedly mistaken for profound wisdom.
In one scene, a dying wealthy man dictates instructions to sell various stock holdings.
This provides an opportunity to examine an often-overlooked part of estate planning: What should happen to investments as someone approaches the end of life?
Selling investments may seem like a straightforward way to simplify an estate. But such decisions can have significant tax and financial consequences.
Selling appreciated securities during life can trigger capital gains taxes. In contrast, inherited assets may receive a different income-tax basis, depending on the type of asset and applicable law.
Other considerations include liquidity, outstanding debts, investment risk, beneficiary designations and the financial needs of a surviving spouse.
There’s no universal answer. Decisions should reflect the person’s circumstances and involve qualified financial, tax and legal professionals.
The lesson? Don’t make major financial moves simply because someone is nearing death without understanding the potential consequences.
Who Takes Over the Family Business?
In the whimsical fantasy Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (2007), Dustin Hoffman plays the eccentric owner of a magical toy store. When he announces his impending departure from life, the people around him must confront what will happen to his beloved business.
The scene illustrates an important reality for business owners: An enterprise needs a succession plan.
Who will take over operations? Does that person have the necessary experience? How will ownership transfer? What happens to employees, outstanding obligations, business debts and existing contracts?
For a family-owned business, these questions can become particularly complicated when some heirs work in the company and others do not.
A thoughtful succession plan addresses both the legal transfer of ownership and the practical challenges of keeping the enterprise functioning.
Even a magical toy store needs some very unmagical paperwork.
Life Insurance and the Unpredictability of Death
The Truman Show (1998) follows Truman Burbank, played by Jim Carrey, whose entire life is secretly being broadcast as a reality television program.
Truman works as an insurance salesman. In the featured scene, he speaks with a customer about the unpredictability of life and death.
For all the film’s surreal circumstances, his observation is remarkably practical.
Nobody knows exactly when death will arrive.
Life insurance can provide financial protection for surviving family members, particularly when a household depends on someone’s income. It may also help cover debts, provide liquidity, or support business succession arrangements.
But policies require periodic review. Coverage that made sense when children were young may not be appropriate decades later. Beneficiary designations also need attention following marriages, divorces, deaths and other significant life changes.
An important distinction: Life insurance proceeds generally pass directly to named beneficiaries rather than being distributed according to a will.
That makes keeping beneficiary information current especially important.
Being an Executor Is No Small Assignment
The Netflix comedy series The Kominsky Method (2018–2021) provides a final lesson about estate planning.
When Hollywood agent Norman Newlander names his friend Sandy Kominsky as executor of his estate, Sandy discovers that the responsibility comes with some serious complications.
Norman’s daughter and grandson present challenges that make the assignment anything but simple.
Being named executor is not merely an honorary title. It is a position of significant responsibility.
Depending on the estate, an executor may need to locate assets, safeguard property, notify beneficiaries, pay outstanding debts, file tax returns, communicate with financial institutions and distribute assets according to the will and applicable law.
The job requires organization, patience, financial awareness and the ability to navigate family relationships.
And sometimes, the person chosen for the job may not be the best person to handle it.
One important estate-planning question is not simply, “Who do I trust?” It’s also, “Who has the time, skills and temperament to manage this responsibility?”
Before naming someone executor, it’s a good idea to ask whether that person is willing to serve.
Estate Planning Is Really About the People You Leave Behind
These films demonstrate that estate planning involves much more than deciding who gets the house, the money or the family heirlooms.
It’s about communicating wishes, protecting loved ones, preparing for unexpected events and choosing trustworthy people to carry out important responsibilities.
It’s also about reviewing plans as life changes.
An outdated beneficiary designation, an unclear business succession plan, or an executor overwhelmed by family conflict can create problems that might have been avoided with some advance preparation.
Hollywood thrives on estate-planning disasters. Real families generally don’t.
The best estate plan may be one that never becomes the plot of a movie.
Have you ever served as executor of an estate, or been surprised by something in a loved one’s estate plan? What did the experience teach you? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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You can also discover a treasure trove of conversation-starting films and TV shows in Gail Rubin’s latest book, 98.6 Mortality Movies to See Before You Die.
