Taylor Swift’s song “Anti-Hero” reveals much about the singer’s anxieties and insecurities but buries the truth on estate planning legislation. After describing all the ways that she’s the problem (and the many ways this torments her), Swift shares,
I have this dream my daughter-in-law kills me for the money
She thinks I left them in the will
The family gathers ’round and reads it and then someone screams out
“She’s laughing up at us from Hell”
Poetic, sure, a dark twist that contrasts nicely with the song’s bubbly cadence, but, most importantly, a dream. Swift’s entire side-plot is made up, and not only because she doesn’t have a daughter-in-law, but because estate planning works nothing like she describes.
The Slayer Statute
The Slayer Statute is an article of law that exists for the precise purpose of protecting your assets from the type of murderous heir described in “Anti-Hero.” If ever you should suffer the unspeakable tragedy—and let’s pray you don’t—of being murdered, your killers claim to your estate “vests as if the slayer or abuser had predeceased the decedent.”
Swift’s fictional daughter-in-law would have got nothing more than a murder prosecution for her heinous crime.
Why It Matters
At Caress Law, PC we don’t often spend our days analyzing pop lyrics but we make an exception for Swift because her song provides a valuable, if not unintentional lesson.
No, it’s not that legislation protects your life’s work should you fall victim to a scheming heir—though, this is good to know—but that estate planning protects you for all the unknowns that come in life. When you organize your assets and build an estate plan, you ensure your life’s work and loved ones are looked after, and that’s a security no adult can afford to pass up!
Be swift, reach out and start your estate plan today! Call us at (503) 292-8890 or fill out the contact form below.
