Today is May 4th, which means only one thing…
It’s Star Wars Day (as in, “May the Fourth be with you”).
Yes, just three days after Justin Timberlake's annual takeover of the Internet, your Facebook news feeds and Twitter timelines are probably now overflowing with Star Wars memes.
It's a tradition that has come to feel like an overdone Dad Joke™, though like many Dad Jokes™, it still makes your mouth turn up slightly at one corner against your wishes.
But this year I want to add something unique to the discourse.
Something gripping.
Something provocative.
I am going to explain how Star Wars is actually a story about estate planning.
It is an incredibly ambitious undertaking, I know. No scholar has attempted it before. But in the words of a tiny green space goblin named Yoda, “Do, or do not. There is no try.”
A Few Introductory Notes
As a Star Wars fan and as an attorney, I am obligated to make several disclaimers.
First and foremost, consider this your one and only >>spoiler warning<<.
It should go without saying that I will be discussing details from various movies in the Star Wars franchise. So if you aren’t already aware that Luke slept inside a Tauntaun’s stomach in The Empire Strikes Back, don’t blame me for ruining any surprises.
Second, I am not licensed to practice law in the Empire or the First Order or the Republic or the Outer Rim or any other political subdivision of the Star Wars universe.
That being the case, for the purposes of my analysis I’m going to assume that the laws in the Star Wars universe are the same as the laws in Oklahoma.
Third and finally, there will be a fair amount of conjecture/fan fiction in this article.
Do we ever see any estate planning documents in the Star Wars saga? No.
But do we have any indication that estate planning exists in the Star Wars universe? Also no.
The characters did a lot of stuff off-screen during Star Wars, so we don’t know exactly what happened. But by the same token, we also don’t know exactly what DIDN’T happen.
So before you read something and rage-shout at your computer screen, “Hey, that never happened!” let me respond with this: It might have happened.
With those notes out of the way, let us begin.
Estate Planning Lessons From Star Wars
I’ll cut straight to the point.
More than anything else, Star Wars is a saga about legacy.
What will you leave behind? What do you want to pass on to the next generation? How can you help your loved ones build a prosperous future without you?
The Star Wars franchise follows three generations of Skywalkers (and others) trying to answer those questions.
In a very real way, we (the audience) watch these characters wrestle with many of the same issues that we do when considering our own legacies — a task which, whether you realize it or not, is a major part of the estate planning process.
As a result, there are some important estate planning lessons that can be drawn from the Star Wars movies. And I think those lessons are worth exploring.
Lesson #1. Families Can Be Complicated
Family dynamics are important to consider when making an estate plan.
Star Wars illustrates this lesson perfectly.
To the extent that Game of Thrones is the new standard for stories with complicated family dynamics, Star Wars was Game of Thrones long before Game of Thrones was Game of Thrones.
Let’s take a look at the Skywalker family tree:
At the head of the family is Anakin Skywalker, who later became Darth Vader.
Anakin’s mother, Shmi, hints that Anakin was an immaculate conception sort of thing and never had a father. But it’s entirely possible that his father was a deadbeat who drowned his sorrows in the Mos Eisley cantina everyday, and Shmi was simply embarrassed of him. Could Vader have a half-brother out there somewhere? You can’t prove he doesn’t.
Shmi later married Cliegg Lars (though the marriage was dubious, since Shmi was formerly his slave and may have married under duress).
Anakin married Padme Amidala, who was wealthy royalty from the planet Naboo. We are given no indication that they had a prenuptial agreement. Therefore, Anakin stood to gain a lot from a divorce or *gasp* murder…
Padme gave birth to twins — Luke and Leia Skywalker — before dying from causes arguably inflicted by Anakin. Luke and Leia were hidden from Anakin, who didn’t know he had any children until many years later.
Luke was subsequently placed with Owen Lars, son of Cliegg Lars and stepson of Shmi Skywalker (technically making him Luke’s step-uncle). Owen merely got custody of Luke and didn’t adopt him, but it isn’t clear if Anakin’s parental rights were ever terminated.
Leia, on the other hand, was adopted by Bail Organa; she even changed her name to Leia Organa. Therefore, Anakin’s (now Vader) parental rights must have been terminated.
Leia later gave birth to Ben Solo (who later became Kylo Ren after turning to the Dark Side), whose father was Han Solo.
Ben later murdered Han, presumably for being an absentee father.
Just your normal, run-of-the-mill, uncomplicated family with no superpowers.
Although we (hopefully) don’t all have as many ultimately-good-yet-still-murderous relatives as the Skywalkers do, almost every family has complicated relationships. And those relationships can significantly affect your estate planning decisions.
For example, you might have a child who is young, with no experience of managing money.
Do you want that child to receive all of his or her inheritance at once?
Perhaps you have a relative who has made irresponsible financial decisions.
Would you want that person to be in charge of your estate after your death? Would you want them to be able to make decisions for you if you become incapacitated?
Or perhaps you are concerned about a child’s untrustworthy spouse.
Do you want to give your child (and thereby his or her spouse) complete access to their inheritance? or do you want to limit the spouse’s ability to take or control those funds?
Whatever your situation, it is crucial to keep family dynamics in mind when creating your estate plan. (I recently wrote more about this as one of the dangers of “Do It Yourself” estate planning.)
Lesson #2. Everyone Should Have an Estate Plan
Some people believe they do not need an estate plan because their estate is “simple.”
Well, let me tell you about another guy with a “simple” estate… named Yoda.
Despite living for over 800 years and allegedly being one of the wisest, most powerful beings in the galaxy, there is no evidence that Yoda had an estate plan.
True, he didn’t have much. Just a house, a staff, and probably some ancient Jedi artifacts.
What assets Yoda did have, however, he probably wanted to pass onto Luke, right? At the very least, he certainly did NOT want his estate to go to the Sith-led Empire.
But guess what?
If Yoda had no spouse or children (and we have no evidence that he did), then without an estate plan all his property would go to the Empire, based on a rule known as escheat.
The common law legal doctrine of escheat states that when a person dies without any heirs (of a certain degree) or legally named beneficiaries, the decedent’s property goes to the state.
In other words, Yoda was super irresponsible. He should have had an estate plan.
You might be like Yoda and have a “simple” estate, which is actually an oxymoron. Maybe you have two kids and know that your state’s intestacy laws provide that they will inherit your estate.
Q: But what if your children are unable to inherit?
A: Your property might escheat to the state.
Q: Or what if one of your children has special needs?
A: Inheriting part of your estate could cause an interruption of benefits.
Q: What if one of them has aggressive creditors chasing them around?
A: That child’s share of the estate might be taken by creditors, meaning that your kids never get to use it.
Q: Or what if any one of a million other unexpected things happen that change how you would want your estate to be distributed?
A: Other unintended consequences could happen.
Estate planning does not end with naming beneficiaries.
A good estate plan has back-up plans and contingencies, ensuring that, regardless of what happens in the future, your wishes will be followed.
Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
Lesson #3. Beneficiaries Might Not Be Ready For Their Inheritance
If you died tomorrow, would you want any young children (or young grandchildren) to inherit your entire estate all at once? or immediately upon turning 18?
Without careful estate planning, you may not be able to avoid it.
Many beneficiaries aren’t ready to receive an inheritance, due to age, maturity, or otherwise.
Consider Ben Solo.
As a kid, he was very promising. His parents might have felt that he would be just fine to manage his finances after turning 18.
Then he turned to the Dark Side and became Kylo Ren.
Yet Ben’s parents didn’t write him off. They knew there was still good in him and wanted him to come back to the Light Side.
In a very serious way, Ben’s seduction by the Dark Side is similar to addiction that derails the lives of so many people. Whether they suffer from substance abuse or another illness, receiving an inheritance could make their problems even worse.
So what should you do?
If you have a beneficiary (or potential beneficiary) who, for whatever reason, may not be ready to use their inheritance wisely, you can use your estate plan to provide for a beneficiary’s treatment or education, or to incentivize better behavior.
Ben’s parents could create a living trust leaving everything to their son upon certain conditions.
For example, their trust could say, “The Trustee shall distribute 10,000 galactic credits to Ben Solo for each year he is not seduced by the Dark Side.”
In this way, Ben’s parents are still allowing their son to benefit from their estate — which they worked hard to build during their lives — without enabling or contributing to his bad habits.
You can place other conditions or restrictions on inheritance as well. For example:
Divide it up so a beneficiary receives some at 25, some at 30, and the rest at 35.
Divide it up so as to distribute only a fixed amount (e.g., $10,000) per year.
Provide that a beneficiary can only access his or her share upon receiving their college degree (or, more broadly, a post-secondary education program).
Require beneficiaries to submit to a drug test in order to receive their inheritance.
There are many ways to control the distribution of your estate; however, this can only be done through a trust. With inheritance received through probate or pay-on-death (POD) accounts, the beneficiary becomes immediately entitled to the assets (as long as he or she is 18).
You should not only decide WHO will receive your estate but HOW they will receive it.
Of course, Kylo/Ben would have had a problem receiving his inheritance anyway, since (in Oklahoma) the slayer rule prevents someone inheriting property from a person they murder.
Consider that Lesson #3.5: you cannot inherit from your dad if you murder him.
Lesson #4. It is Crucial to Update Your Estate Plan
Life changes. A lot.
Take Luke Skywalker, for example. Just look at everything he went through:
His mother died (arguably killed by his father).
His uncle Owen died (likely on the orders of his father).
He moved away from home to be a nomad.
His best friend, Ben Kenobi, died (killed by his father).
He lost his hand.
He learned that his father was still alive (but then died for real).
He learned he had a sister (after accidentally kissing her).
His new best friend, Han Solo, died (killed by his nephew).
He died. (Oof.)
While we don’t necessarily experience those life events in such dramatic fashion, the changes that Luke encounters are actually pretty common:
Your beneficiaries and representatives might pass away.
You might move to another state.
You might develop a severe medical condition or disability.
You might discover new relatives (e.g., through a site like 23andMe).
Any one of those changes might make it advisable to update your estate plan, as could changes in the law, changes in the value of your assets, or simply changes in who you want to inherit your estate or who you want to take care of you if you become incapacitated.
The point is: even the best estate plans require tweaking over the years.
And while not every change demands updating your estate plan, it is important to review your documents regularly to make sure they still accurately reflect your wishes.
Lesson #5. A Good Estate Plan Involves More Than “Stuff”
The only tangible item we see passed down in Star Wars is Anakin’s old lightsaber.
(Note: My guess is that it is the primary asset in some sort of long-term dynasty trust established by Obi-Wan Kenobi for the benefit of the Skywalker children. But I digress…)
So at first blush, it may seem that there isn’t much “inheriting” actually going on in the movies.
However, assets and tangible “stuff” aren’t the only thing you can give to future generations.
Think about how Luke’s face lit up in A New Hope when Obi-Wan told him about how his father had fought in the Clone Wars, something Luke had never known.
Or how Obi-Wan died teaching both Luke and Anakin one final valuable lesson.
Or how Qui-Gon Jinn, with his dying wish, told Obi-Wan he wanted him to train Anakin.
Some of the most valuable things you possess are your hopes and dreams, your values, your stories, your memories, and your family traditions — all of which can live on long after you die.
But your beneficiaries don’t inherit any of those things through legal documents. That part of your estate plan is entirely dependent upon you.
Some people include it in an estate planning letter of instruction.
Others leave separate letters or written journals.
Still others make video or audio recordings.
Doing all of this can be time consuming. It may even seem trivial. But assets are not your only legacy, and your estate plan is not complete simply because your assets are in order.
Don’t Wait a Long, Long Time for an Estate Plan
In conclusion, Star Wars is very obviously a saga about estate planning. And if you don’t agree, you are a Sith. Unlike Star Wars, however, your estate plan should not be from a long, long time ago, because the need for it may not be far, far away. Okay, that’s it. I’ve done all the Star Wars puns and references I can do.
To talk about creating or updating your estate plan, or if you just want to hear more Star Wars jokes, call the Oklahoma City estate planning attorneys at Postic & Bates for a free, no-obligation consultation. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently conducting telephone appointments only.
David M. Postic is an attorney at Postic & Bates, P.C. His practice focuses on estate planning, probate, real estate, trust administration, business planning, and adoption.
You can email David through our Contact Us page or by calling our office at (405) 691-5080.
[As with all our blog posts and other publications and resources, the contents of this article do not constitute legal advice and are subject to our site-wide disclaimer.]
