Episode summary
Celebrity Estates: The Murdoch Family Trust and Irrevocable Planning with Mark Parthemer
Summary
The episode uses the Murdoch family trust dispute to explain why irrevocable trusts can still become a battleground when family relationships, business control, and estate planning collide. Mark Parthemer argues that the core mistake was combining equal economic interests with equal voting power in a family where not every child was involved in the business, creating a structure that later no longer fit the family’s realities.
He says an irrevocable trust is not truly immutable, but changing it is difficult and usually requires more than a beneficiary’s change of heart. Courts may allow modification through tools such as judicial proceedings, settlement agreements, or decanting, but the family must usually show more than personal preference. In the Murdoch matter, the trust’s design, the brothers’ and sisters’ differing roles, and Rupert Murdoch’s attempt to rework control all exposed the limits of rigid planning.
Mark also stresses that family governance is not the same as legal control. Mission statements, family meetings, and shared values can help, but the trust document governs when conflict arises. The practical lesson for advisors is to choose a lane up front: either design for permanence or intentionally build in flexibility for future family changes, shifting business needs, and privacy concerns.
Key takeaways
- Mark Parthemer says irrevocable trusts can sometimes be modified, but changing them because a founder changed his mind is usually a very hard path.
- The Murdoch trust mixed equal economics and equal voting rights, a structure Mark says can break down when only one child is active in the business.
- Mark says family governance may guide a family, but the trust document controls legal rights when conflict emerges.
- He says advisors should either build for permanence or add flexibility with tools like trust protectors and decanting provisions.
- Mark notes that estate plans often go stale because families change over time, not just because the tax law changes.
Notable quotes
“there may be a door to change an irrevocable trust but it's a really heavy door”
“Equal isn't always fair isn't always equal”
“family governance is really important, but family governance is not the same as legal control”
“Can you change an irrevocable trust sometimes? Can you change it just because you changed your mind”
“you can't go over it, can't go under it, got to go through it”
How the episode opens
Welcome to the Celebrity Estates Wills of the Rich and Famous podcast. In this podcast, we break down high-profile celebrity estate planning cases for advisers and their clients. Most celebrity estate catastrophes are based on the same issues that everyday people face, just with the volume turned up.
Our goal is to identify and extract the individual estate planning issues that lie at the heart of each story. We then discuss what advisers should expect and how to avoid common pitfalls. Hosted by wealthmanagement.com senior editor David Lenock.
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest episode of wealthmanagement.com celebrity estates wills of the rich and famous. For anyone new to the podcast in each installment myself and a guest take on a different celebrity estate and attempt to extract some key lessons that planners can apply to more traditional clients. The idea being that celebrity estate planning stories, although often ridiculous in their details, generally have at their cores very basic issues that could just as easily apply to non-famous or fabulously wealthy clients.
To learn more about estate planning and how you can better serve your clients, visit wealthmanagement.com/trusts-states. Our monthly journal features tax law updates, wealth planning, retirement planning, and much more written by thought leaders in the industry. That's wealthmanagement.com/trusts-estates.
We're joined today by Mark Parimemer. Mark is chief wealth strategist and Florida regional director at Glenme. He is responsible for developing and communicating Glenme's position and strategy concerning tax estate planning and fiduciary matters pertinent to clients and their adviserss as well as cultivating the growth and operations of Glenme throughout Florida.
Prior to joining Glenme, Mark served as managing director for TIAA and managing director and senior fiduciary council for Bessemer Trust, working with ultra high netw worth clients to deliver sophisticated tax and estate planning advice and provide tailored guidance.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- irrevocable trust modification
- trust protectors
- decanting powers
- family governance vs legal control
- estate planning privacy
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Glenmede Trust Company
Watch the episode
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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