An Estate Plan for the Dutton's of Yellowstone

 

This guest post is from Grace Henson, Regent Law 3L:

Paramount’s Yellowstone is full of drama surrounding land battles, relationships, and family, but it also raises several topics relevant to estate planning. John Dutton and his family are fighting to save their sixth-generation Montana cattle ranch from various attacks, one being development by a large corporation into an airport and ski resort. Dutton implores several tactics in order to save his ranch, most recently being his election as Montana governor.

It seems that John Dutton could benefit from a good estate planning attorney because it appears he does not have a will, and he faces several threats to his life. Without a will, Dutton’s assets will pass intestate. Given the strained nature of his relationship with his son, Jamie, Dutton would likely want to dispose of his property differently than it would pass intestate. Also, the unique nature of the land contributes to the need for this land to pass through Dutton’s specific wishes in a will because he wants someone to own the land who is passionate about running the ranch and is also committed to keeping the land within the family.

          Before his election as Montana Governor, Dutton placed the 750,000-acre ranch in a trust with his daughter, Beth, as trustee and both Beth and his youngest son, Kayce, as beneficiaries. Yet, this action was not as straight forward as it might seem. Dutton’s adopted son, Jamie, is an attorney and during certain parts of the show, actively fights against the family for the land. Jamie tries to claim future ownership in the land as an heir because he ascertains that the trust is invalid in Montana as Beth filed it in Salt Lake City, Utah. At that time, it is unknown to viewers and to Jamie that he is actually adopted by John, but that does not make a material difference because in Montana, adopted children have the same inheritance rights as biological children. Jamie’s claim, however, is incorrect because a trust need not be filed in a specific state to be enforced in that state. Instead, the state law that governs the trust is either the state law specified by the trust or the state in which the assets within the trust are located (in this case, Montana). Since Jamie is not a named beneficiary of the trust, he likely has no future interest in the land. Additionally, conflicts of interest would arise because Jamie is the Attorney General of Montana.  

          John and Beth also consider placing the land in a conservation easement with a land trust to avoid development. A conservation easement would permanently limit use of the land for specific conservation purposes and would eliminate the possibility of the land being developed into an airport and ski resort. Dutton would be compensated for essentially donating his land for conservation purposes by receiving a tax deduction. The family would continue living on the land, and the land could be passed to Dutton’s heirs, but all future owners of the land would be bound by this easement agreement.

          Yellowstone is evidence that estate planning is an important aspect of family restoration because it can work to create family harmony if it is done well, or family chaos if it is not.