Downton Abbey's plot is called "an enormous estate-planning problem" in an article featured in the Wall Street Journal.

Downton Abbey, the popular PBS drama, is a case study in estate planning gone wrong, according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal.

“The whole plot is really about an enormous estate-planning problem,” Kenneth Brier, a lawyer in Needham, Mass, is quoted in the article saying.

The show, which just wrapped up its third season, features a British aristocrat, Robert Crawley, known as the Earl of Grantham, who has three daughters but no sons to whom he can leave his estate, as required under British property rules at the time. His cousin and the cousin’s son, the next in line to inherit the estate, both die aboard the Titanic.

According to the WSJ (spoiler alert!), “The most obvious take-away from “Downton Abbey” is to diversify investments, a lesson the earl learns after squandering much of his American wife’s fortune on an investment in a Canadian railway filing for bankruptcy.” Had another inheritance not come at an opportune moment, the Crawleys would have been forced to sell their estate, lay off the staff, and move to a smaller home.

The WSJ article featured several additional suggestions:

  •  Inheriting an old house often is more trouble than it’s worth. That’s especially true if siblings or other relatives are meant to share the use and upkeep of the property.
  • Spell out control and ownership when passing the baton of a family business. Martin Shenkman, an estate-planning lawyer in Paramus, N.J., recommends that parents bring in a management consultant to determine which members of the next generation are qualified to run the business.
  • Trusts can protect the family fortune. When the Crawleys beg the earl’s American mother-in-law to bail them out, she says she can’t help because the assets are tied up in a trust.
  • Make a will before giving birth. We won’t give away who passes away in Season 3, but having an updated will in place is always a good idea.
You can read the entire article here.

Please note: Since everyone’s situation is unique, please consult with your estate attorney and/or financial advisor before acting on any of the advice listed above.