The Rise of Skywalker nearly is upon us and Star Wars fans worldwide are clamoring for answers to the questions that have plagued us since The Last Jedi. While things like the fate of the Resistance and Palpatine’s mysterious return are no doubt important to many, there is one question that stands above all others: What will Kylo Ren’s inheritance be?
With the love of estate planning being so prevalent amongst Star Wars fans, it’s time to give the people what they really want by taking a look at what the galaxy’s #1 son stands to inherit as the Skywalker Saga concludes.
Kylo first found himself in a position to possibly receive inheritance at the start of the sequel trilogy. Kylo’s life was suddenly turned upside down towards the end of The Force Awakens when his father, Han Solo, suddenly died of a tragic lightsaber wound.
When someone dies (even on a far away planet that is also a superweapon), a legal process known as probate is used to settle the decedent’s (dead person’s) debts and to ensure their property is transferred to heirs and beneficiaries in an orderly fashion. A specialized type of court, known as a probate court, is typically involved in this process, with the goal of overseeing the administration of estates.
Even though Han wasn’t exactly in the best financial position at the time of his death, he still had assets to his name. From the reclaimed Millennium Falcon to his trusty DL-44 blaster, Han owned a decent amount of property at death, which would need to be distributed during the probate process.
The law generally requires that you outlive someone in order to inherit from his or her estate. Leia and Kylo, as Han’s surviving spouse and child, would therefore both be in position to be beneficiaries of Han’s estate.
The first step in the probate process is determining whether Han died with a will. A will is a key part of the probate process, since it’s the document in which a person expresses how his property should be distributed after he dies. As someone who lives out of his spaceship and illegally hauls rathtars around the galaxy, it’s safe to say that Han probably never took the time to sit down a and draft a will.
When someone dies without a will, a set of default laws kick in. Known as intestate succession laws, these laws apply equally to anyone who dies without a will. In the absence of a will to provide clear directions, intestate laws operate to ensure an orderly distribution of an estate that minimizes fighting amongst heirs. These laws establish both who is eligible to inherit from an estate, as well as setting their respective shares.
For example, in Pennsylvania, in the case of a person who is survived by both a spouse and a child of that marriage, the spouse inherits the first $30,000 of the decedent’s property, plus half of the remaining balance, and the child inherits the rest. Han’s family fits that profile, meaning Leia and Kylo would potentially stand to inherit a decent chunk of Han’s estate.
But before Kylo can tear off in the Millennium Falcon to do space donuts, he’ll have to deal with a major legal speed bump to his inheritance claim. That legal hiccup arises because of how Han died. Kylo isn’t in a position to inherit from his dad because of some unfortunate accident or a sudden deadly illness—he murdered his father in cold blood. If it seems patently unfair that someone might stand to inherit from his own misdeeds, that’s because it absolutely is.
Fortunately, just about every state has legal mechanisms in place to prevent these types of ill-gotten gains. Commonly known as “slayer statutes,” these laws prevent someone who killed the decedent from inheriting from the victim’s estate. Slayer statutes accomplish this by treating the slayer as having died before or “predeceased” the victim, which effectively bars them from inheriting any property. One of the most famous examples of a slayer statute in action came with the Menendez Brothers in the 1990s. Lyle and Erik Menendez, heirs to a $14.5 million dollar estate, brutally murdered their parents in 1989. They were later convicted in a high profile trial and barred from inheriting the lucrative estate.
In Kylo’s case, he would almost certainly be classified as a “slayer” under the law in most states. In Pennsylvania, a slayer is defined as “any person who participates, either as a principal or as an accessory before the fact, in the willful and unlawful killing of another person.” Kylo was a principal in the death of Han, having willfully run him through with a lightsaber on Starkiller base.
Although Kylo might cry foul that he hasn’t been tried and convicted of Han’s death, that wouldn’t matter in most states. While a criminal conviction for murder is often treated as conclusive proof that someone is a slayer, a typical slayer statute does not require a criminal conviction. That’s because these statutes are civil laws, not criminal laws, which means the burden of proof is much lower. Kylo’s responsibility for Han’s killing would therefore only need to be shown by a preponderance of the evidence, as opposed to being proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, if the court concluded that it was more likely than not that Kylo killed Han, he would be blocked from any inheritance. Given that there were two eyewitnesses to the crime (three if the court can find a wookiee interpreter for Chewbacca to testify), that burden of proof would be easy to meet.
Kylo might also argue that he isn’t a slayer because he wasn’t criminally responsible for Han’s murder, perhaps by reason of Dark Side induced insanity. But despite that argument, he might still be barred from any inheritance in certain states. For example, in Florida, the definition of a slayer is much broader, including those who unlawfully kills or merely participates in procuring the death of someone. That expansive definition includes crimes that go beyond premeditated murder, and arguably includes lesser unlawful killings such as involuntary manslaughter.
Unfortunately for Kylo, his eagerness to prove himself to Snoke likely doomed his chances at any inheritance. Kylo won’t even stand to inherit a single one of Han’s dusty old vests (which are no doubt covered in Chewbacca hair).
