Chase getting half of Falcon Crest in season 2

[Chris2]

When I watched the show when it first aired on CBS, I was OK with Chase taking half of FC. I didn’t understand why Angela and Jason’s father split it the way he did, with Angela receiving most of the land. And Chase was legally entitled to it.

But now, I feel more ambivalent. Sure, Angela covered up Jason’s death and deserved to pay some legal penalty. But to give up half her land/company? She’s the one who built it up, not Jason and not Chase. It doesn’t seem fair. OTOH, Angela was constantly screwing with Chase - trying to drive him out, so I guess I can’t blame him for taking it. But it doesn’t seem as cut and dried as I thought it did 40 years ago.

 

[TJP]

They split as part of a settlement.

Due to the clause in Jasper's will Phillip had explained in the series première, Chase would have been entitled to all of Falcon Crest because Jason's death was not a natural one, but under mysterious circumstances. Chase knew that Angela would fight him all the way if he enforced that clause, and Angela knew she would lose everything in the end although it may be after very long court battles. That's why they agreed on sharing 50 : 50 at the end of season 1, or actually a little less because they shared the part of Falcon Crest that was Angie's at the time (i.e. not including The Gioberti Estate, which is the Gioberti House and the surrounding Founder's Vineyard, which was 50 acres) — that will be clarified in a later statement from Chase that they agreed on sharing 50 : 50 of what she owned, not including what was already his (by inheritance from Jason).

 

[Willie Oleson]

Due to the clause in Jasper's will Phillip had explained in the series première, Chase would have been entitled to all of Falcon Crest because Jason's death was not a natural one, but under mysterious circumstances.

Which says a LOT about how Jasper felt about his bossy and ambitious daughter. And it's true, Angela never wanted Jason to have an impact on the family business.
Jason's fatalism and weaknesses proved to be very convenient (and then he also married the most evil woman in the world, what a bummer).

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Jason's fatalism and weaknesses proved to be very convenient (and then he also married the most evil woman in the world, what a bummer).

In Season 7, I want the nuclear waste Jacqueline buried under the vineyards (the real reason she wanted Chase and his family to leave Tuscany Valley -- and may have siphoned Jason's virility, an unfortunate side-effect) back in the '50s, leaking into the chardonnay 30 years later and causing spontaneous human combustion in those customers who consumed it. Julia and Emma are diagnosed with brain tumors as a result, and undergo surgery (which Melissa refuses) thus proving their mental issues weren't just due to their having a bitchy mama... And the nuclear waste probably caused Maggie's brain tumor three or four years earlier. It even affected the local wildlife... (Naturally, Angela is immune, while some chromosomal issues spares the men -- except Jason Gioberti, his immune system weakened by years of alcoholism); We eventually learn that Madame Perrault had funded a powerful, high-tech particle accelerator positioned underneath a children's hospital in a major southern city used to create viral mutations in order to engineer a bio-weapon intended to kill Castro (who'd nationalized her Cuban casinos and brothels in 1959). When her wishes face opposition in Washington, and a lab leak sees the virus get into the population at large, "some records" Richard finds in late-Season 7 reveal that Jacqueline may have turned her homicidal intentions stateside onto a couple of uncooperative D.C. politicians and had them whacked.

The unspoken implications, so coded no network executive could possibly decipher them and therefore object, are that Chase's mom killed the Kennedys and developed AIDS... But we must never, ever say it.

So, yes, she is evil. And maybe still alive. Even today.

Ridiculous? Perhaps. But it's FALCON CREST ridiculous.

I also think an intensely gothic, autumnal atmosphere for Season 7 just smells right.

 

[TJP]

Which says a LOT about how Jasper felt about his bossy and ambitious daughter. And it's true, Angela never wanted Jason to have an impact on the family business.
Jason's fatalism and weaknesses proved to be very convenient (and then he also married the most evil woman in the world, what a bummer).

Not necessarily because the clause worked either way. Had Angela died under mysterious circumstances, her heirs would have inherited all of Falcon Crest, and Jason and his descendants would have been deprived of the inheritance. It seems that Jasper didn't trust any of his children.

 

[Arlene Halloran]

The plot was cleverly done, leading up to Chase getting 50%. The viewers knew the complete story, whereas Chase and his family were not completely aware of what really happened to Jason.

 

[TJP]

The plot was cleverly done, leading up to Chase getting 50%. The viewers knew the complete story, whereas Chase and his family were not completely aware of what really happened to Jason.

Definitely a superb way of rewriting "The Vintage Years" on Bob McCullough's side.

 

[Angela Channing]

These are the kind of things that can only happen in soap operas and wouldn't be legally sound in real life.

When Angela's father, Jasper, died, the ownership of Falcon Crest must have been put into a trust otherwise it would have been distributed between his heirs at the time of his demise and subsequent deaths wouldn't have changed the inheritance. In a trust, Jasper could have kept the property in an ownership limbo until a point in the future of his choosing, i.e., the death of one of his 2 heirs.

I assume Angela was given some conservatorship responsibility (either in Jasper's will or in agreement with Jason) which enabled her to run Falcon Crest in anyway she thought appropriate. In the time between Jasper's death and Jason's death (approximately 20 years), Angela would have built Falcon Crest into a bigger and more powerful business.

Now according to Jasper's will, if Jason's death was deemed to be "suspicious", all of Falcon Crest went to Jason's heirs, which would be Chase, and Angela would only be left with the 50 acres that Jason previously controlled. Chase questioned whether this was all legal and he was right to, because I doubt whether it was.

Angela could have petitioned the court to recognise the work she had put in to manage and grow Falcon Crest during the time and it would be inconceivable that the court would take all of Falcon Crest from her, regardless of whatever was in Jasper's will. The likely outcome would be that Jason would be entitled to the value of the 500 acres of Falcon Crest at the time of Jasper's death plus average land appreciation for 20 years, which I would imagine was significantly less than the full value of Falcon Crest. Consequently, Angela would have been entitled to the bulk of Falcon Crest.

Also, the inquest into his father's death that Chase pushed for, showed that Jason's death was an accident and would not have met the threshold of being "suspicious" so again , a court would not have taken Falcon Crest away from Angela. Had Philip been a better lawyer, he would have pointed this out to Angela and she wouldn't have settled for giving away half of Falcon Crest, she could have kept it all.

 

[Willie Oleson]

Not necessarily because the clause worked either way. Had Angela died under mysterious circumstances, her heirs would have inherited all of Falcon Crest, and Jason and his descendants would have been deprived of the inheritance. It seems that Jasper didn't trust any of his children.

Technically speaking that's true, but we know enough about brother and sister Gioberti to make a guess. I presume Jasper did the same.

One thing that often surprises me about this Falcon Crest forum - and I've also seen it on the Dallas forum, but only by a few hardcore JR supporters - is that there seems to be a romanticised image of Angela Channing, sort of an anti-hero rather than a villain.
Because these soap villains are the main characters they cannot be dislikeably evil, they need to be entertainingly evil. We love to hate them, we don't hate to hate them.
However, that doesn't absolve them of all their sins - even if Angela's villainy weakened sometimes in later seasons because the family was attacked by more dastardly villains played by guest stars.

And yet...it seems perfectly alright to blame Alexis Carrington for everything that goes wrong in the world, but Angela Channing is above reproach?
That is not how I watched Falcon Crest and imo she was a miserable tyrant (and a lot of fun because of that).

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

These are the kind of things that can only happen in soap operas and wouldn't be legally sound in real life.

When Angela's father, Jasper, died, the ownership of Falcon Crest must have been put into a trust otherwise it would have been distributed between his heirs at the time of his demise and subsequent deaths wouldn't have changed the inheritance. In a trust, Jasper could have kept the property in an ownership limbo until a point in the future of his choosing, i.e., the death of one of his 2 heirs.

I assume Angela was given some conservatorship responsibility (either in Jasper's will or in agreement with Jason) which enabled her to run Falcon Crest in anyway she thought appropriate. In the time between Jasper's death and Jason's death (approximately 20 years), Angela would have built Falcon Crest into a bigger and more powerful business.

Now according to Jasper's will, if Jason's death was deemed to be "suspicious", all of Falcon Crest went to Jason's heirs, which would be Chase, and Angela would only be left with the 50 acres that Jason previously controlled. Chase questioned whether this was all legal and he was right to, because I doubt whether it was.

Angela could have petitioned the court to recognise the work she had put in to manage and grow Falcon Crest during the time and it would be inconceivable that the court would take all of Falcon Crest from her, regardless of whatever was in Jasper's will. The likely outcome would be that Jason would be entitled to the value of the 500 acres of Falcon Crest at the time of Jasper's death plus average land appreciation for 20 years, which I would imagine was significantly less than the full value of Falcon Crest. Consequently, Angela would have been entitled to the bulk of Falcon Crest.

Also, the inquest into his father's death that Chase pushed for, showed that Jason's death was an accident and would not have met the threshold of being "suspicious" so again , a court would not have taken Falcon Crest away from Angela. Had Philip been a better lawyer, he would have pointed this out to Angela and she wouldn't have settled for giving away half of Falcon Crest, she could have kept it all.

The "suspicious death" clause might or might not stand up in court, but in real life too much would come out in discovery, and Angela might decide to split the business 50/50 to avoid the controversy, the damage to her reputation and the reputation of Falcon Crest possibly irreparable. Instead, the show did both.