Taylor Swift: Family & Estate Planning Anti-Hero

 

This guest post is courtesy of Leea Collard, Regent Law 3L Student:

 

As all 20-Something American females assuredly know, on October 21, 2022, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift released her tenth studio album, "Midnights." Since then, Midnights has received attention from around the world, and ten days after its release, it occupied the top ten songs on the Billboard Hot 100, with "Anti-Hero" topping the charts for five consecutive weeks. Through Anti-Hero's catchy tune and larger-than-life music video, Swift conveys her deepest insecurities, including her struggle with depression, loneliness, and eating disorders. While the quirky song is fun to listen to and is a reminder that no one is perfect, it inadvertently teaches a valuable lesson on estate planning.

The lyrics to the song's bridge are as follows: "I have this dream my daughter-in-law kills me for the money. She thinks I left them in the will. The family gathers 'round and reads it, and then someone screams out, 'She's laughing up at us from Hell.'"

Here, Swift presents her concerns that those around her, particularly her future children, will only love her for what she has to offer–fame and fortune. Unfortunately, this is something that Swift is not alone in fearing. Many people are concerned that those who stand to inherit from a will are ill-meaning or lack a relationship with the testator. In such cases, Virginia law allows for a testator to disinherit a beneficiary as Taylor Swift fictionally did in Anti-Hero. However, contrary to the above lyrics, one must do more than omit a beneficiary's name from a will to properly disinherit them. Instead, there are three steps that a testator must take to disinherit a beneficiary:

1.      the testator must explicitly name the beneficiary that she seeks to disinherit;

2.     the testator must indicate her desire to disinherit the beneficiary; and

3.     the testator may include the reason for the disinheritance in the will (but should avoid slander or libel if doing so).

Reasons for disinheritance include but are not limited to the following: a lack of relationship or estrangement, previous inheritance distributions, financial irresponsibility, character judgment, or pure freedom of disposition to transfer as one wishes as a testator.

If you are considering disinheriting a child or family member from your will, there are a few things that you should be mindful of. Firstly, you may not be able to disinherit children who are minors at the time of your death. However, you have the right to disinherit your adult children for no reason or any reason, including due to the absence of a parental duty to provide for such adult children. Secondly, if you decide to disinherit a beneficiary of your current will, you must formally update your will to reflect this intention. Thirdly, be sure that either you or your lawyer evaluates the circumstances leading up to the disinheritance. In doing so, consider the following questions: Is any behavior such as undue influence present that would cause the disinheritance? Does the testator have the mental capacity necessary to effectuate disinheritance?

Ultimately, if you, like Taylor Swift, are contemplating the disinheritance of a child or family member, spend time on your knees before the King of Kings to determine whether this action honors you, your family, and the Lord. Pray for clarity and guidance on the matter. If you choose to disinherit a beneficiary, I pray that you would work to mend relationships, love deeply, and continually seek the betterment of yourself and your family. Ask that the Lord would lead you in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. (Psalm 23:6). May Jesus become more, and you become less. (John 3:30).