Environmental legacies are unpleasant leftovers of the industrial development of this nation. Unlike family legacies, which usually involve assets that are to be distributed among the heirs, environmental legacies most often involve liabilities. These liabilities were created by releases of contaminants, and exposures to toxic materials that have caused and, in some cases, will continue to cause, bodily injury and property damage. In most cases, resolving liability claims also requires the remediation of contaminated sites or the removal of asbestos‐containing building materials.