Dolly Parton had to do smart planning to make sure her wishes for her businesses and charitable giving were honored after her death. Dolly Parton meant a lot of things to a lot of people over the years, but now she’s fast becoming a case study for the need for careful estate planning that can withstand family conflict, especially as a solo ager. Parton didn’t have children, and her husband died in 2025, but she had 11 siblings and multitudes of nieces and nephews.
She also had vast, ongoing business operations, charitable ventures and a cultural legacy. Without the right protections, a dispute could tie up millions of dollars. But Parton planned out a strategy for her businesses and philanthropic work to continue through trusts, the details of which are not public.
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The ‘one thing worth doing this month’ if you’re near or in retirement, says the head of Ally Invest The U.S. and China agree to $60 billion in tariff cuts on products like dolls and fireworks. Rare earths remain a sticking point. Beth Pinsker is a financial-planning columnist at MarketWatch.
She has been a certified financial planner (CFP®) since 2018. Previously, she worked at , Fidelity and Walletpop.com. She is the author of the book "My Mother's Money: A Guide to Financial Caregiving." Prior to covering personal finance, she was a film critic and entertainment business reporter, writing for Entertainment Weekly, the Dallas Morning News and many other publications.
You can follow her on BlueSky (@bethpinsker.bsky.social) or LinkedIn (@bpinsker). Intraday Data provided by FACTSET and subject to terms of use. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by FACTSET.
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