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Let's Discuss. A Pop Culture and Law Podcast.

Let's Discuss. A Pop Culture and Law Podcast.
Author: The Matus Law Group
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© 2025 Let's Discuss. A Pop Culture and Law Podcast.
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Listen as our hosts, Christine and Kristine, discuss different law-based scenarios in media. Is what you see on television and in movies accurate in regards to the law?
44 Episodes
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In this episode, Christine Matus and Kristine Carranceja-Gurski are joined by the firm's senior Real Estate Attorney, Brayndi Grassi, to dive into the fascinating intersection of estate planning, real estate, and art law, focusing on graffiti and artists' rights. They discuss two abandoned properties in Los Angeles that have become covered in graffiti and explore the legal implications of property owners removing street art. The conversation revisits the landmark 5Pointz case in New York, whe...
In this episode, Christine Matus and Kristine Carranceja-Gurski break down the high-stakes estate planning moves behind media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s multi-billion-dollar trust. As the legendary tycoon steps back, what happens next for his vast media empire? We explore how strategic estate planning can shape the future of family businesses, avoid power struggles, and protect legacies—whether you’re a billionaire or not. Tune in for legal insights, pop culture intrigue, and estate plannin...
In this episode, Christine and Kristine are joined by our Real Estate attorney Brayndi Grassi who has a background in Music Law, and lead paralegal Jo-Ellen Wlazlowski who is a hip-hop and true crime aficionado in addition to her legal knowledge. The conversation delves into P. Diddy's branding tactics, his tumultuous legal history, and how royalties and asset management play out in high-profile cases. They even touch on the estate planning implications for music royalties and in...
In this episode, we are revisiting the topic discussed in our 36th episode: Matthew Perry's estate plan. Christine and Kristine discuss the updates that have come up with his case after his sudden passing and the benefits of setting up a Trust instead of just having a Last Will & Testament. It is clear that Perry had expert guidance and he is one of the celebrities who gets a 10/10 on our Estate Planning scale: he had a Trust in place. Listen to the full episode to learn more about the ta...
In this gripping episode of Law & Pop Culture, Christine and Kristine take a deep dive into the notorious Menendez brothers case, exploring the estate planning implications and legal complexities behind the crime. The 1989 murders of entertainment executive Jose Menendez and his wife Kitty shocked the nation, but the estate planning issues that surfaced in the aftermath raised questions about family dynamics, inheritance laws, and criminal liability in estate cases. We examine how the Men...
In this episode of Law & Pop Culture, Christine and Kristine delve into the intricate and dramatic saga of Aretha Franklin’s estate. Five years after the Queen of Soul’s passing, the battle over her estimated $18 million estate nears resolution. The episode explores the complexities and legal challenges posed by the discovery of two wills: a handwritten 2014 document found under a couch cushion and a more formal 2010 version We'll discuss how the 2014 will, authenticated by a Michigan ju...
In this episode of Law & Pop Culture, we go back to a topic we've already discussed but this time with the latest updates. In January 2024 a new lawsuit was filed by L. Londell McMillan and Charles Spicer, managers of Prince Legacy LLC, the holding company that oversees half of Prince's estate. This lawsuit alleges that four of Prince's family members attempted to remove the company from his Estate, let's remember the battle for his estate began back in 2016 when he passed without a will,...
Welcome to Law & Pop Culture, a podcast in which we talk about the trials and tribulations of celebrity Estate Planning. In this compelling episode, attorneys Kristine Carranceja-Gurski and Christine Matus delve into the crucial importance of keeping estate plans up to date. Focused on the untimely passing of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, the episode uncovers the challenges faced by his wife, Vanessa Bryant, due to the absence of provisions for their youngest daughter in his estate plan....
Welcome to another episode of Law & Pop Culture, this time we are discussing the details of Matthew Perry's estate plan after his unexpected death in October 2023. Luckily it is clear that he had expert guidance and he is one of the celebrities who gets a 10/10 on our Estate Planning scale: he had a Trust in place. Listen to the full episode to learn more about the takeaways you can apply to your own Estate Plan. Thanks for listening, to learn more about The Matus Law Group head to ...
On this Law & Pop Culture episode, we are revisiting the first episode of the podcast in which we talked about Britney Spears' Conservatorship (or Guardianship as it is known in NJ) and the legal battle she undertook to revoke it. This time around we get a fresh new perspective on how she ended up under this Conservatorship thanks to her Memoir: The Woman in Me. Christine and Kristine discuss the legal loopholes that this legal tool has and how it is possible for people who don't need thi...
In the final episode of our Jane Austen special, we are discussing the 2020 Emma starring Anna Taylor-Joy, later we talk about Real Estate mogul Leona Helmsley. What do these two women have in common? Bequests on Wills. Bequests are petitions made in these estate planning documents that condition how the assets are to be distributed, in Helmsley's case the bequest involved no other than her Maltese dog! Leaving her $12M and causing a big conflict in court. Thanks for listening, to learn...
On our second episode, we are back with the Jane Austen theme where we talk about another one of her classics: Persuasion. This time the movie came out in 2022 starring Dakota Johnson as the protagonist Anne, and Cosmo Jarvis as her love interest Captain Wentworth. The movie talks about what can happen when one does not correctly handle their inheritance, which fortunately is something that can be addressed nowadays with proper Estate Planning. Unfortunately, this was not the case with our re...
Welcome to the 4th season of Law & Pop Culture! This season we are dedicating the first 4 episodes to one of the greats of literature: Jane Austen. In this episode, we will discuss the book-turned movie called Sense and Sensibility starring Kate Winslet, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, and romcom heartthrob Hugh Grant. Besides being a love story it also discusses the complications that come when you have several potential heirs but fail to plan accordingly. This is why later in the epi...
In the final episode of season 3, we are going back to talking about Succession Planning and how the ultra-rich do it, and of course, the drama that can come from having all that money. We discuss the first episode of the 2017 tv show TRUST, which details the unraveling of the Getty Family and that famous kidnapping. Later in the episode, we continue with the Getty's story except that for this we compared the show to the real-life events that inspired Trust. Thanks for listening, ...
In this episode titled Plot Twists in Estate Planning, we’ll be talking about what happens when a rightful heir comes forward, or when the person who is supposed to administer the estate gets replaced without their knowledge! We start with our movie starring Adam Sandler and Winona Rider: Mr. Deeds. Later in the episode, we discuss the dispute over the Estate of Lisa Marie Presley, the late daughter of the King of Rock himself: Elvis Presley. Which involves a complicated court battle be...
This week we are once again talking about Elder Care and the conflicts that can cause in families. Let’s start with our movie. It is called Hanging Up and stars rom-com darlings Diane Keaton and Meg Ryan, and Phoebe from Friends herself Lisa Kudrow. Later in the episode, we discuss the drama behind another media mogul whose Estate ends up in an epic family battle that goes to court: billionaire Sumner Redstone of Viacom Communications. Thanks for listening, to learn more about Th...
In this episode of the podcast, we talk about protecting your assets through a divorce or separation, and how the actions may change depending on how amicable or nasty that process is. We begin with the movie: A Simple Favor starring Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick, in which there are some questionable actions from one of our protagonists in regard to a life insurance policy involving her husband. Next, we discuss Bruce Willis and Demi Moore’s very amicable divorce. Bruce and Demi were married...
In this episode we talk about Undue influence, very large Estates, and the legal consequences of taking advantage of the elderly. First we discuss the movie Bernard and Doris starring Susan Sarandon as Doris and Ralph Fiennes as Bernard, in which Doris is a decadent Hollywood star and Bernard her new butler who ends up being her sole heir! After, we discuss the case of Brooke Astor and her son Anthony Marshall who got accused of changing his mother's will to inherit her multi-million dollar E...
Welcome back to the second half of the third season of the podcast! On this episode, we will discuss Conditions on Wills. Some of them can be Conditional gifts, these are often referred to as 'contingent gifts' as they rely on the occurrence of the specified contingency. Which is exactly what happens in the movie The Bachelor in which Jimmie finds out that if he want to inherit the multi million dollar estate from his grandfather he has to marry in the next 24 hours. Later in the episode we t...
In this episode of Let's Discuss, Law and Pop Culture we will talk about what happens when you create an Estate Plan and have a Will in place but for whatever reason, your beneficiaries can't find it. First, we discuss the movie The Greatest Inheritance starring Mena Suvari, which tells the story of 4 estranged siblings who come home after their mother dies but getting their inheritance turns into a scavenger hunt. Later in the episode, we talk about "The Fastest Woman Alive", 1988's olympian...
In this episode, we are talking about different scenarios that can happen if we fail to plan ahead, think of them as warnings of what you DON’T want to happen. First, we talk about the movie Death at a Funeral starring Kevin Hart, Regina Hall, Zoe Saldana, Chris Rock, Danny Glover, Martin Lawrence, Peter Dinklage, Luke Wilson, and James Marsden, a star-studded cast. Later in the episode, we talk about another situation in which there was no planning involved, this time regarding Estate ...
On this episode of Let's Discuss: Pop Culture and Law, we talk about the importance of having a proper plan in place when you have underage children and some things that can go wrong when you don't have it. We start the episode by talking about our first animated film in the podcast: Lilo & Stitch, which besides being about a little girl and her pet alien, it also deals with the failure ofnot naming a guardian for your children when you unexpectedly pass away. Later on the episode w...
Welcome to the THIRD season of our podcast Let’s Discuss, Law and Pop Culture, in this space we talk about movies and celebrity cases that deal with Estate Planning matters and discuss if that really happens in real life or what they could have done instead. We are starting this season with a topic we have yet to touch on: Non-Profits and Foundations. We begin by discussing the classic 90’s romcom featuring Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn, and Bette Midler: The First Wives Club. In this film, the t...
This week we will be talking about the type of matters The Matus Law Group is known for: Special Needs Estate Planning. First, we’ll begin with the 1999 movie The Other Sister, starring Juliette Lewis, Diane Keaton, and Sarah Paulson, in which Carla (Juliette Lewis) has a mental disability but that doesn't stop her from wanting to break free from her family and gain some independence as an adult. Next we talk about the real-life case of actor Colin Farrell’s son who has a condition called Ang...
This week we are once again tackling the topic of Succession Planning, which is the process businesses should go through as it determines what would happen to the business if the owner were to pass away suddenly, become incapacitated, or retire. First, we discuss a very talked about TV show that is currently heading to its 4th season. This show is an Estate Planner’s dream in terms of the themes it deals with: HBO’s Succession. We will only be discussing the first episode of the f...
In this week's episode, we will be talking about what happens when a person has many beneficiaries, which could result in nasty family disputes. First, we talk about the movie Greedy (1993) starring Kirk Douglas and Michael J. Fox, which centers around a very wealthy man and the fight between his nieces and nephews to be his heirs while he's still alive! Later in the episode, we discuss Blue's musician BB King. Over his career, he fathered 15 children, and although there wer...
This week we will be talking about the tricky situation of protecting your assets from spouses when you have a big network. First, we will talk about the Addams Family sequel called The Addams Family Values which deals with Fester's new marriage raising suspicions around his new bride's intentions. Later in the episode, we discuss the case that took the media like a storm in the 90s: model Anna Nicole Smith and her 90-year-old husband J. Howard Marshall, who passed before he could inclu...
In this episode, we discuss the perils of dying intestate. Intestate means that you die without a will. In New Jersey, if you die without a valid will in place, your estate is subject to what is called intestate succession, or the way the state has decided your estate will be distributed. We first talk about 1947’s movie The Ghost and Mrs. Muir: a love story from cinema's golden days that surprisingly deals with Estate Planning when "The Ghost" haunts the house he died in because it did...
In this episode, we have a double feature for you: The 2021 movie House of Gucci and the real-life Gucci Family. The movie did a great job of portraying the drama between the family members but we want to delve deeper into the other side of this drama: Succession Planning. We will discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly in the Gucci Family's Estate Plan, and which tools they could have used. Join us! Thanks for listening, to learn more about The Matus Law Group head to our website www.matusla...
In this episode, we are veering off from our standard format. Instead of discussing a movie, we will be talking about a comedy show that ran for 11 years and won multiple Emmy’s during its first years. We are talking about Modern Family, which believe it or not has actually touched on several Estate Planning topics throughout its eleven seasons. If you’re not familiar with the show, it is the story of Jay Pritchett's family: his second wife, his stepson, and their infant son; and Jay's...
In Estate Planning, one of the main objectives is to protect your loved ones if something were to happen to you, and when there are minor children involved that makes the situation more delicate. In this episode, we’ll be talking about why it’s extremely important to make sure we appoint Legal guardians in our will so we can avoid a situation like the one in the movie Gifted. Starring Captain American himself, Chris Evans. While appointing legal guardians is important when protecting our mino...
We are back for Season 2! In our first episode of the season, we talk about Elder Care and the challenges that come with watching our parents age and having to make decisions about their care. We discuss the 2019 movie What They Had starring Hillary Swank, Michael Shannon, Blythe Danner, and Robert Foster as a family grappling with the mother's battle with Alzheimer's. We then move on to the last years of comic book legend Stan Lee, the legal battles around his estate, and the saddening case ...
Our first season has come to an end and we are closing it out with a bang! We are discussing the in’s and out’s of Succession Planning. Though one might think only the extremely wealthy have to worry about this (and we do cover that area in talking about media mogul Rupert Murdoch), Succession Planning is important for everyone who owns a business, no matter how big or small it is. A perfect example is the movie This is Where I Leave You, in which a patriarch passes away WITH an Estate Plan, ...
This week we are talking about taxes and multiple beneficiaries, and how it is imperative that you consider everything that could go wrong. We’re talking about the movies People Like Us, starring Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, and Michelle Pfeiffer in a family estate planning drama involving secret half-sisters and 150 000 inheritance in cash. We also talk about James Gandolfini’s Estate Planning and how he could have done better to avoid the high costs of estate taxes from ...
Last month was Estate Planning National Week. Part of getting your Estate Plan in order means taking a look at your current EP and updating the necessary elements. But perhaps you could take a few pointers on what NOT to do when you update yours, number one being, don’t pull the carpet from under your family’s feet by disowning them because that may cause some drama. Just like in the successful 2014 film The Grand Budapest Hotel. This film is not only visually gorgeous and features all the Ho...
We’re back and we are coming back with a Halloween-themed episode. We will be talking about the 1991 classic The Addams Family movie, which, believe it or not, deals with some estate planning themes. To accompany this movie we will talk about another iconic figure: Jim Morrison, leading man of The Doors who unfortunately died too young. What brings these two icons together? Well, Estate Planning done too simplistically, as it doesn’t take into account the real value of the estate and the esta...
In this episode, we are talking about a very sensitive topic which is: how do we care for our elders when they are no longer able to do it themselves? For anyone who has had to go through this family situation, I’m sure you know that there is a deeply emotional and compassionate aspect to it, but there is also a legal point of view which, if implemented through that compassionate lens and prioritizing a good communication between all parties involved, it can be a great addition to how we care...
Welcome back to episode 5 of Let’s Discuss, a Pop Culture and Law Podcast. In episode 5 we talk about an 80’s classic written by the all-time queen of romcoms Nancy Meyers and starring Diane Keaton: Baby Boom. Keaton plays a take on the American yuppie: a successful and workaholic no-nonsense businesswoman who has the surprise of her life when she is made to be the caretaker of a 6-month-old baby belonging to her recently deceased and estranged cousin that as stipulated in her cousin’s ...
For episode number four, we have a very interesting theme for you: when requests for guardianships get tangled up with family disputes, economic interests and sometimes, sadly, elder abuse. To support this episode we talk about a movie classic: Rain Man (1988) starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman, two brothers who go on a cross country journey after the youngest (Cruise) realizes that his father left all the money, which he believes he’s entitled to, to his estranged older brother (Hoffman)...
Welcome to The Matus Law Group's new Pop Culture & Law Podcast. Hosted by Christine Matus and Kristine Carranceja-Gurski. In the second episode, Christine and Kristine discuss the Good, the Bad and the Ugly about setting up a comprehensive Estate Plan and in contrast, failing to do so. To support this theme, they will discuss the 2011 Oscar-winning movie The Descendants, starring George Clooney as a trustee of a very wealthy Hawaiian estate who has to deal with family drama, fighting off ...
Our first episode is now available! In this episode, Christine and Kristine discuss what are Guardianships and Conservatorships, what are the limits to these, how far the Courts can go, and how we can take protective measures to avoid being in one without our consent. To support this theme, they will discuss Netflix's movie I Care A Lot, starring Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl, 2014) in which her character Marla, is a professional court-appointed guardian in Massachusetts, who deceits the court to ...
Welcome to the fourth episode of Season 4! This time we will have a slight change in our format and will focus only on discussing a real-life case. We will discuss Rupert Murdoch’s Succession Plan from the highly successful News Corp. Murdoch's oldest son Lachlan will be taking over as the sole chair of News Corp and Fox. The 52-year-old congratulated his father on his seven-decade career, with Murdoch becoming Chairman Emeritus in mid-November but at the heart of the story are three siblings...
This week we are talking about big Estates and the family disputes that can arise, which are sometimes motivated by greed such as in the movie Steal Big Steal Little starring Andy Garcia who plays twins! Later in the episode, we move on to Jimi Hendrix’s Estate and the disputes that arose between his father and brother in a litigation process that is far from over. Thanks for listening, to learn more about The Matus Law Group head to our website www.matuslaw.com Follow us on...
The theme for this episode are holographic wills, which is the official term for wills that the deceased drafts by hand. These type of wills are only valid in some states, New Jersey included, but in order to be accepted and probated by the court there are several requirements like: It has to be written by hand, signed and dated by the decedent, the signature and key provisions are clearly written by the same hand testimony by a handwriting expert and/or witnesses who are familiar with the de...
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