Tuesday, March 05, 2013

Financially Planning Downton

We're still a couple episodes from the end of Season 3 of Downton Abbey, being in that limbo state of generally wanting to finish seeing it but never feeling like devoting the hour on any given night. However, I much enjoyed this slightly tongue-in-cheek analysis of the series from a financial planner point of view. [Some spoilers in full article.]

"It's like a law-school exam in what not to do," says Jonathan Forster, national wealth-management chairman at law firm Greenberg Traurig in McLean, Va.

The show has become something of a sensation among financial planners and lawyers, who see parallels in their clients' lives. "We're always very interested in wealthy people and how they handle and manage their problems," says Carol Harrington, head of the private-client group at law firm McDermott Will & Emery in Chicago. Ms Harrington even got tickets to tour England's Highclere Castle, the real-life setting for the show, in July as a birthday present from her husband.

1 comment:

  1. For the record, I just want to say that after watching the first episode of Season Three, Darwin and I stood around in the kitchen and called out this whole estate-planning issue. We wrote out for ourselves how the entire season ought to play out, estate-wise, and it sounds like we were right. Even the spoilers we guessed at.

    Actually, I kinda think our season of Downton Abbey would have been more interesting than what's happened so far. (Yeah, Edith, sorry -- we've all forgotten you already, again.)

    They tell me that the last episode really jumps the shark. I hope it's so, because at this rate I'd like a reprieve from having to watch another season.

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