In December 2019, a Colorado court entered a $6 million wrongful death judgment against Chris Watts — $3 million for Shanann and $1 million for each of his daughters. It was a default judgment. He didn’t even appear.

In this second of two episodes on the Watts case, we examine the legal and financial aftermath of the murders — the wrongful death action, how Colorado’s intestate succession laws directed Shanann’s estate to her parents, and the complicated story of the Frederick, Colorado home that sat in legal limbo for years before finally selling. We also take a hard look at the psychology behind the crime itself: why a man with no history of violence, earning over $100,000 a year, would choose murder over divorce. The answer — rooted in the psychiatric concept of a “family annihilator” and its “clean slate” subtype — is one of the most instructive case studies we’ve encountered in this series.

Call 866-323-7529 or visit https://cordellcordell.com/practice-areas/estate-planning/ to schedule an estate planning consultation. For a limited time, mention LIFE’S THIRD ACT for 15% off eligible estate planning services!

In August 2018, Chris Watts confessed to murdering his pregnant wife Shanann and their two young daughters in Frederick, Colorado. It became one of the most watched true crime stories in American history. But we want to come at it from a different angle. What most people don’t know is that in the years leading up to the murders, Chris and Shanann Watts were drowning financially — a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing in 2015, over $400,000 in liabilities, and a joint savings account that held just $3.51. They were earning $120,000 to $140,000 a year and still couldn’t stay afloat. In this installment of our Marriage, Murder & Money miniseries, the first of two episodes on the Watts case, we examine the financial collapse that preceded the crime — the credit card debt, the HOA lawsuit, the MLM income that papered over serious structural problems, and what all of it tells us about the kind of financial vulnerability that can quietly exist inside a marriage. This is what we mean when we talk about deal-killers. And in this case, the stakes couldn’t have been higher.

Call 866-323-7529 or visit https://cordellcordell.com/practice-areas/estate-planning/ to schedule an estate planning consultation. For a limited time, mention LIFE’S THIRD ACT for 15% off eligible estate planning services!

How did Kouri Richins manage to systematically drain over $500,000 from her husband’s estate despite Eric’s attempts to protect himself? In Part 2 of our deep dive, attorney and CPA Joe Cordell explores the financial fallout of the Kouri Richins case and the critical estate planning lessons we can learn from it.

We analyze the complex reality of “financial infidelity” in a marriage. From the vulnerability created by the “Marital Unity Paradox” to the specific estate planning defensive measures Eric took—including trusts, new wills, and private investigators—we breakdown why even the best legal defenses can fail when they run up against a determined exploitive spouse.This is the conclusion of our “Marriage, Murder, and Money” (MMM) look at the Kouri Richins story.

Call 866-323-7529 or visit https://cordellcordell.com/practice-areas/estate-planning/ to schedule an estate planning consultation. For a limited time, mention LIFE’S THIRD ACT for 15% off eligible estate planning services!