A Simple Trust Mistake Cost Rupert Murdoch $3.3 Billion - Here's How to Avoid It

Rupert Murdoch's family fortune is measured in billions, but the estate-planning lesson from his trust dispute applies to families with far less money. A trust designed years ago eventually helped fuel a bitter succession fight, a failed court battle, and a roughly $3.3 billion settlement. If you're trying to keep more cash in your wallet, it's a striking reminder that the details inside an estate plan can matter just as much as creating one.

Signing the documents is only the beginning. The central problem wasn't simply that Murdoch's children disagreed. It was that the trust structure left little room for resolving what could happen when they did, making later changes extraordinarily difficult. The lesson sits in the fine print: here's what you need to know for your own estate plan.

Murdoch's trust left little room for disagreement

Murdoch's family trust was structured so that, after his death, voting control over the family's media holdings would be divided equally among his four oldest children: Lachlan, James, Elisabeth, and Prudence. Reporting on the arrangement found that major decisions required a majority, but there was no built-in solution for a deadlock, leaving the possibility that the family could become stuck when the siblings disagreed.

Murdoch later tried to modify the irrevocable trust to concentrate control with Lachlan, but a Nevada probate commissioner rejected the effort after finding that Rupert and Lachlan had acted in bad faith.

The family eventually reached a different solution. In 2025, Prudence, Elisabeth, and James agreed to leave trusts holding Fox and News Corp shares, with each receiving roughly $1.1 billion, for a combined payout of about $3.3 billion. News Corp confirmed that the three departing beneficiaries would receive cash consideration and cease to be beneficiaries of trusts holding shares in the two companies.

A trust protector can provide an escape valve

One way to build more flexibility into a long-term trust is to name a trust protector, although the available powers depend on state law and how the document is written. A trust protector is someone other than the trustee or beneficiary who can hold authority over certain aspects of a trust, potentially including removing or appointing trustees and modifying the trust document.

Those powers can be broad when state law and the trust allow them. For example, Nevada law says a trust protector may be authorized to amend a trust in response to changes in federal or state law, replace a trustee, change the trust's governing law, or even terminate the trust.

The goal isn't to give one person unlimited control, but to create a carefully defined backup mechanism before family relationships, tax laws, or financial circumstances change. An estate-planning attorney can help determine whether such a role makes sense and what powers it should have.

Decanting or settlement agreements can add flexibility

An irrevocable trust isn't always completely frozen forever. Depending on state law and the trust's terms, a trustee may be able to use "decanting," which generally means transferring assets from an existing irrevocable trust into a new trust with updated provisions. Essentially, it's a way to modernize a trust or respond to unforeseen circumstances while still respecting the creator's original intent.

Another option may be a nonjudicial settlement agreement, which can allow interested parties to resolve certain trust issues without a full court proceeding. However, these agreements can't violate a material purpose of the trust and must contain terms a court could otherwise approve. 

They can address issues such as interpreting trust provisions, trustee powers, trustee appointments, and other administrative matters. Building awareness of these options early can make future disagreements easier to handle.

Separate trusts can reduce future family friction

Parents don't necessarily need to place every child's inheritance under one long-term set of rules. In some situations, creating separate sub-trusts for individual beneficiaries can reduce the number of decisions siblings must make together and allow the terms to better match each person's circumstances rather than keeping all assets under one common structure.

Separate trusts won't necessarily eliminate every dispute, and they may not be right for every family. But if beneficiaries have different financial needs, personalities, or goals, forcing them to jointly manage the same assets for decades can create unnecessary tension. That's worth discussing before the trust becomes irrevocable.

Your estate plan needs regular checkups

A trust can reflect your wishes perfectly when you sign it and still become outdated years later. Family relationships can change, assets may grow or shrink, beneficiaries could develop new needs, and state laws may evolve. Generally, it's advisable to review your estate plan regularly and after major events such as marriage, divorce, a birth, a move to another state, or a significant financial change.

That review should go beyond checking names and account balances. Ask what happens if trustees disagree, beneficiaries fall out, someone wants to exit an arrangement, or a provision no longer works as intended. Finding those weaknesses while you can still make changes is much easier than asking your heirs to solve them later.

Bottom line

The Murdoch dispute involved extraordinary wealth, but the underlying mistake was ordinary: A long-term plan didn't have enough flexibility for a future the family couldn't perfectly predict. Ask yourself what would happen if the people named in your own trust eventually disagreed, circumstances changed, or an outdated provision stopped working. That conversation may expose problems while you still have the ability to fix them.

You also don't need a multibillion-dollar estate for poor planning to become expensive. Attorney fees, court costs, delays, taxes, and family conflict can result in losing money at almost any wealth level, so periodically reviewing your documents with an estate-planning professional may help eliminate some money stress for both you and the people who eventually inherit what you leave behind.

You May Also Like

23 Ways To Get Money Without Getting A Second Job

By FinanceBuzz Editors

How To Save Money on Car Insurance: 12 Ways to Lower Rates

By Elyssa Kirkham

10 Things Seniors Born Between 1941-1969 Could Take Advantage Of

By FinanceBuzz Editors

19 Dumbest Things Smart People Waste Money On

By Team FBZ

7 Moves If You Want to Stop Living Paycheck to Paycheck

By FinanceBuzz Editors

7 Clever Ways to Crush Your Debt

By FinanceBuzz Editors

Up To 5% Cash Back

Discover it^® Cash Back

Benefits Card Details

• Intro APR on purchases and balance transfers
• $0 annual fee
• Apply Now

• Get a 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers; balance transfer fee applies. Then 17.49% to 26.49% Standard Variable Purchase APR applies, based on credit worthiness
• INTRO OFFER: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. You could turn $150 cash back into $300
• Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases
• Redeem cash back for any amount. No annual fee
• Terms and conditions apply

4.7

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Apply Now

on Issuer's secure website

Rates and fees

Read Card Review

Intro Offer

INTRO OFFER: Unlimited Cashback Match for all new cardmembers. Discover will automatically match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year! There’s no minimum spending or maximum rewards. You could turn $150 cash back into $300

Annual Fee

$0

+ -

Why we like it

• The Discover it^® Cash Back is ideal for anyone who loves flexible rewards options.

• Cardholders can redeem their cash back for any amount.

• Earn 5% cash back on rotating bonus categories up to the quarterly maximum when you activate, along with 1% cash back on all purchases. Categories may include places like gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, and more.

• Apply Now

---

Subscribe Today

Learn how to make an extra $200

Get vetted side hustles and proven ways to earn extra cash sent to your inbox.

or

Subscribe Now →

By submitting this form you agree to receive emails from FinanceBuzz and to the privacy policy and terms