MovieChat Forums > Knives Out (2019) Discussion > Handling the inheritance

Handling the inheritance


What would you do if you were Marta? Keep all? Keep some? There's basically three assets:

-$60 million cash
-The house
-Thromby's body of work

I think I'd keep the cash and the house but give the family the body of work to get them off my back. The house and the cash are enough of a windfall for anyone. Let the family learn to get along to milk what they can from Thromby's body of work.

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Considering how they are all a bunch of assholes (the family I mean), I would keep like $20 millions to myself (which is more than enough for me), and then I would give the rest to charities and write them a bill of what they each could've had just to piss them off.

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I would not give them the body of work as the one that was in charge of publishing likely would have gone against Harlan's wishes in regards to movies etc. I suppose you could make that a stipulation. However, his work was important to him so taking the cash and dumping that seems rather disrespectful. I'd have his works handled in a manner consistent with his wishes. I'd give the grandaughter and her money some modest sums to live but perhaps stipulate they need to work some and be productive.

I'd keep the publishing son employed. I'd take care of Fran and the elderly mother. Until I discovered Ransom's evil scheme I'd have given him some money to live on conditional on him holding down a job to get the full amount, otherwise it is a subsistence amount.

I'd let the elderly mother live out her life there if she wanted, or move her to wherever she wanted and obviously pay for it. After that I'd sell the house and take care of her funeral costs.

I'd use some money to help people in need like homeless, vocational training for those in poverty and some grants for various good causes. Maybe get Fran to help run these things.

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Since I would have $60 million plus in money, and the mansion and acreage, and the publishing empire for the best-seller books, I would give each of them $5 million, with the exception of the guy who tried to stab me and the SJW grievance-study graduate student.

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Sell the house and the publishing rights back to the family.
Keep the cash and move somewhere else.

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The point wasn't to enrich Marta, though.

It was Harlan's wish that he cut his family loose. He seemed to actually believe it was better for them to be on their own.

So he wasn't exactly giving her a windfall; he was entrusting her with his plans.

Then again, as Blanc told her in the end, she triumphed by following her own path, not Harlan's.

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keep all

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I think that sounds fair, and likely enough. Even though Marta would be within her rights to keep all of it, and it'd be hard to blame her, I don't think she would. I think at the very least she saw to it that Meg was able to finish school. Meg wasn't perfect, but she was probably the most innocent in the family; I very much doubt she knew her mom was swindling Harlan. And Marta said in that phone call she'd help Meg with school, so I think she saw to that. Plus a lot of minority families may end up in a spot where only one person in the whole family is able to get a good education, and so the rest are banking on that one to sort of "make it" for them, and that'd be an interesting inverse. And while I don't think she really needs help, I do feel bad for Jamie Lee Curtis. Imagine that within the span of a few days, your dad dies (in a really strange manner no less), your son is arrested for murder, and you find out your husband's cheating. She's headed for a nuthouse.

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Sad part is, whenever this happens in real life, the family comes at the inheritor with lawyers.

Unless Marta gives it ALL back, she's guaranteed to be sued by some or all of the family.

And yes, we can clearly see that Harlan was in his right mind when he executed the final will, and he even took steps to ensure that his lawyer would agree and support his decision. BUT ... still people can and will sue no matter how weak the case. And in this case, as with most cases, they'll likely get something from Marta as a settlement.

So there's no reason for her to give ANY of it back or cut them ANY slack, except maybe Meg's tuition (which she should pay directly to the school).

Whatever she gives them will just go to fund their lawyers. She'll need every cent to defend herself against them and against the INS (since if the family doesn't know about her mother, their lawyers will definitely uncover it for use as blackmail).

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