What We Can Learn From TV Families: The Cosby Show

The classic 80s sitcom The Cosby Show featured a family led by Cliff Huxtable, a doctor, and Claire Huxtable, a lawyer.  So we have two professionals, with presumably high incomes.  And we have five good, if not entirely perfect, children – Sondra, Denise, Theo, Vanessa and Rudy.

The planning needs of the Huxtables include asset protection and inheritance protection for their children.

Because they both are in “highly sue-able” professions, they will want to plan to protect their assets from potential creditors.  This planning should include adequate insurance coverage.  And it should also include a plan with trusts and other vehicles structured to protect their more vulnerable assets.

We can also presume they have a high income, and so their children are going to have a large inheritance. The Huxtables will want to include values planning for their beneficiaries in order to insure that the kids inherit their values as well as their “stuff.”

Perhaps the Huxtables will form a Family Foundation.  A Foundation is a specific way to make charitable gifts.  It is typically managed by family members.  If the Huxtables manage the foundation with their children, they can teach them the importance and value of philanthropy directly.