Kelly Ripa Tells Mark: Lawyers Needed for Children’s Inheritance

Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos have always been open about their family life on Live with Kelly & Mark, often sharing humorous takes on parenting and marriage.

But during a recent episode, their conversation took an unexpected turn when Mark made a bold remark about their children’s inheritance. Kelly’s reaction? It might be time to bring in the lawyers.

Mark Consuelos’ Controversial Take on Inheritance

While chatting about various topics on the show, the couple landed on the subject of inheritance—particularly the unusual cases where pets inherit fortunes.

Mark brought up the infamous story of hotel heiress Leona Helmsley, who, upon her passing in 2007 at age 87, left a staggering $12 million to her beloved dog, Trouble.

Meanwhile, her human relatives were left with nothing. A judge later ruled that the dog would only receive $2 million (via ABC News), but the story remains one of the most shocking inheritance cases in history.

Amused by the idea, Mark jokingly entertained the possibility of following Helmsley’s footsteps when planning his own estate. “I’m leaving everything to Lena,” he declared, referring to their dog.

“Because you know, you want to skip the kids. What is that? Generational skipping? Lena will appreciate it. Much more than our kids will appreciate it.”

Kelly, however, was quick to shoot down the idea, dryly pointing out, “You can’t leave property to property.”

Kelly Ripa Suggests They Might Need Lawyers

Mark went on to suggest that this could actually be a clever tax-saving strategy, to which Kelly sarcastically responded, “Great plan.” But she didn’t stop there. Taking the joke a step further, she quipped, “You know what? Let’s just cut to the court battle. Let’s hire the attorneys now.”

Although the couple was clearly having fun with the topic, their discussion transitioned into a more serious reflection on parenting. With all three of their children now grown and living on their own, Kelly shared an interesting—and somewhat controversial—piece of advice she once received:

“You shouldn’t reach out to them with communication. You should let them reach out to you.”

She immediately pushed back against the idea, saying, “If we waited for that to happen, I guess we’d never hear from said child again.”

The notion behind this advice is that young adults may prefer to take the lead in reaching out after leaving home. But Kelly wasn’t convinced. “What if they don’t make the first move? What if you have to make the first move?” she questioned.

Turning to Mark, she playfully wondered if they had been doing it all wrong as parents.

For context, the couple shares three children: Michael, who graduated from New York University in 2020; Lola, a 2021 graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts; and Joaquin, who is currently a senior at the University of Michigan.

While their kids are out building their own lives, it’s clear that Kelly and Mark haven’t lost their sense of humor when it comes to family, finances, and—of course—the occasional legal battle over a hypothetical dog inheritance.

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