Rain Man: A Lesson in Estate Planning

Rain Man: A Lesson in Estate Planning

By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi

March 4, 2024

It's March and the annual Academy Awards show is just around the corner.  Loving all types of storytelling, I make it a personal goal to watch as many of the nominated films as I can each year.  This year in addition to the nominated films, I revisited the movie Rain Man, which took home eight Oscars at the 1989 awards show, including Best Picture.  The film explores a week in the life of Charlie Babbit (played by Tom Cruise) who has just learned that his estranged father has died.  Charlie returns home to Ohio for the funeral, and to hear what his father's will states.  He is both expectant and annoyed to learn that his father, a wealthy man, has left him a prized car and rose bushes.  The rest of his $3 million estate is directed to a trust with an unnamed beneficiary.  Ever the son with a sense of entitlement and a growing personal finance troubles, Charlie sweet talks an employee at the trust office to learn the location of the mysterious beneficiary.  He quickly learns that he has a much older brother who is autistic, residing in a care facility.  Consistent with his spoiled ways, Charlie whisks his newfound brother, Raymond (played by Dustin Hoffman) away on a road trip to his home in California.  Charlie convinces himself that he can hold his brother as leverage and convince the trustee to "split" the estate between the two brothers.  A week on the road together allows Charlie to grow and mature in ways he never did before, leaving the viewer with a very "Hollywood" ending to a great film.  

When I turned off my TV and let my attorney brain review the message and theme of the film, I found myself thinking about the character never shown on the screen -- Sanford Babbit.  Writing his will, the elder Babbit sensed that his youngest son was not mature and still needed to grow up.  He also likely new his son had an overgrown sense of entitlement.  At age 16 Charlie took his father's prized car for a joy ride, that not only landed him in jail but was the final straw in their relationship.  Once he was out of jail he left home, never to speak to his dad again.  Yet when he wrote his will he left his son two gifts that had little value, and instead directed this large estate into a trust.  As a parent I think it is easy to anticipate Charlie would go looking for the money, and that trouble would quickly follow.

So much of estate planning is seen from the vantage point of the person writing the will, with little to no consideration given to the people left here on Earth navigating grief, expenses, and the distribution of assets. A subtle message from this film may be to give a plenty of thought to what the terms of your estate plan will do to the dynamics of your family, especially if you are leaving children behind.  

Know of another great movie that touches on estate planning and or probate?  Send me a comment and I'll check it out!  Also, remember that a blog is not legal advice.  It is meant to spark thought and discussion only.  Please consult an attorney in your home state for advice specific to your situation.  Thanks for reading, and be well!