Ending of Cruella

At the end of Cruella (2021):

The Baroness pushes Estella off a cliff and is arrested for murder. Since Estella is the biological daughter of the Baroness, and since "Estella willed her fortune to her dear friend Cruella de Vil", Cruella de Vil (who in reality is the non-death Estella) "inherits" the Baroness's fortune.

Is this according to the law? That is, does a woman who murders her daughter, go to prison and lose her fortune to her daughter's heir? According to Wikipedia, the movie is set in 1970s London, so the laws of such time and place apply.

Best Answer

I am not a lawyer, nor do I have any specific knowledge about legal changes between the 70s & today…

I'm not sure the murder would affect this. The law can generally only take the estate of a convicted person if their wealth was itself illegally gained.

However, when a beneficiary pre-deceases, the gift is returned to the estate. [There's a grey area if they live a short time after, but that doesn't apply in this case]. You can't inherit if you're already dead.

If Estella willed her estate to Cruella, then Cruella would get whatever Estella was worth, not what the Baroness was worth. The Baroness's gift would not proceed.

As it's a question that crops up regularly in real life, it's quite easy to find easily-comprehensible versions of this at UK law firms - see Co-Op Legal - What Happens in Probate if a Beneficiary Has Died?

Pictures about "Ending of Cruella"

Ending of Cruella - Boy Sitting on His Desk While Reading His Book

Ending of Cruella - Two Students Gossiping With One Another

What happens at the end of Cruella?

Cruella ends with one of the Dalmatians that Cruella has inherited/stolen from her biological mother giving birth to a litter of puppies, two of whom Cruella gifts to Roger (Kayvan Novak) and Anita (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), respectively.

Is there a secret ending in Cruella?

There is not a post-credits scene, however, there is a mid-credits scene. In the mid-credits scene, Cruella does something rather surprising, but it does explain how two dogs - Pongo and Perdita - end up in the care of their owners ahead of 101 Dalmatians.

Cruella 2021 Ending | Emma Stone as Estella/Cruella

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