Breaking Bad Finale- WALT'S MONEY: What would happen to this FAT STACK of cash in real life?

WARNING! The following post containing BREAKING BAD FINALE SPOILERS!

Walt and Skylar used to be in posession of some seriously fat stacks of cash.

Now that Breaking Bad is officially over, we know that Walter White was (hopefully) able to give his last remaining barrel of cash to his son, Walt Jr., aka "Flynn," via a seemingly philanthropic donation from the wealthy "Gray Matter" science duo Gretchen and Elliot Schwartz, in the form a irrevocable trust of around 9 million dollars. If the Schwartz's didn't make this "donation" to Walter Jr, or used any of their own money to cover any fees associated setting up the trust, they were lead to believe they would be killed by "two of the best hitmen on this side of the Mississippi." (Which, as it turns out, were really just two of our favorite goofball junkies with a couple of laser pointers, Badger and Skinny Pete.) 

"Cheer up, beautiful people."

Assuming that Elliot and Gretchen "make things right" and stick to their word, Walt Jr. will indeed get his father's hard earned meth money...but this 9 million dollars is only a small chunk of what Walt actually made during his run as a meth empire overlord. When Uncle Jack, Todd and their gang killed Walt's brother-in-law/DEA Agent Hank Schrader, along with his partner Agent Steven Gomez, Jack and his crew dug up Walt's numerous barrels of cash, and buried the bodies of the two men. When Walter finally shoots up Jack's place for revenge with a homemade, carefully rigged machine-gun apparatus that was hidden in the back os his trunk, it quickly takes everyone out except Todd (who is taken out by Jesse) and Jack- who asks him to "Wait!" as Walt hold a gun up to his head, attempting to appeal to Walt's once prominent greedy nature and asking, "Don't you want to know where the rest of your money is?" Walt promptly shoots Jack dead. Later on, Walter dies....Jesse is finally free, and the money is seemingly in no one's possession.

  

Remember the good old days when Kuby and Huell just rolled around on Walt's money before moving it to safe place?

This begs the question, what would happen to such a large quantity of drug money in real life? Who would this "fat stack," as Badger and Skinny Pete like to say, end up going to? Simply put, a number of things could happen to unclaimed drug money. Most likely, the money would be seized as evidence for a period of time, usually around a year or two, until any trials or discovery would be complete. It must also be proven that the money is indeed drug money, of course, and that this is not just assumed. This can be done looking at numerous factors, such as whether or not the money was found in an unusual hiding place, if the alleged owner of the money or the owner of the property where the money was found has a reasonable explanation for the money/other sources of income, or testing the money for drug residue. 

What's more fun than several barrels of meth money? Nothing. Nothing is more fun.

Lastly, the money would most likely then be handed over to agency which initially seized it, in Walt's case, the DEA- and used toward funding programs in the community, or perhaps given to the families of any victim's associated with the case. This is all determined after a hearing about the funds. In the case of Walter White's money, I would like to think that this particular "fat stack" went toward reimbursing the funeral expenses for ASAC Hank Schrader, Agent Steve Gomez, Andrea (Jesse's girlfriend), Drew Sharpe (the young boy killed by Todd), as well as ten men killed in prison by Jack's ruthless crew, as ordered by Heisenberg, and any other victim's who were harmed. Brock's medical bills and counseling should be covered, for sure...because that kid is going to need some serious help after being poisoned and then presumably finding his mother dead on his doorstep one morning. The rest of the money would likely go into circulation in the Albuquerque area toward programs that promote helping those who suffer from substance abuse and drug addiction. 

So there you have it! This is what would likely happen in real life to Walt's money on Breaking Bad. It's as entertaining as the Vince Gilligan's finale, but it's at least somewhat satisfying to imagine the victims of Heisenberg's "baby blue" getting a piece of that huge cash pie, as well as the lovable "Flynn" getting 9 million as per Walt's wishes. 

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