Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, www.wsj.com, reported on the status of Blockbuster Video, since it was acquired by Dish Network. “Bye-Bye for Blockbuster” reveals that its parent company will close the last Blockbuster stores, reports Wall Street Journal reporters Martin Peers and Shalini Ramachadran. Blockbuster’s demise is a great lesson for trustees, who invest and re-invest billions of dollars of family wealth for trust beneficiaries.

‘Though well-intentioned, creators of trusts and private foundations have the craziest ideas sometimes. They actually believe their heirs, their descendants, might get along, or even appreciate the wealth which has been left to them.

Are you and your sisters and brothers unhappy with the trustee of your family trust? Is your family involved with a dispute with your family trustee and trust litigation is the only way to resolve the difference?

What’s the best way to try to keep family harmony and let family wealth grow over time? Split up that family trust. Notice I didn’t say “bust up” the family trust. There’s a difference.

Does having multiple co-trustees run your family trust make sense? Many high net worth clients have pre-conceived notions of who should serve as trustee of a family trust and why. Some of those notions may be right on point, and should be implemented. Having bright people guiding your wealth makes sense. Other ideas of who should be a co-trustee may be well-intentioned, perhaps the product of success in the board room or corporate America, but mis-placed for the family trust setting. Here are a few things to consider when appointing the trustees of your trust, or your family trust.

So, you are creating a massive family trust for your “descendants” or “heirs”. Maybe you are placing some of the family’s private business interests in the trust, or perhaps creating one of those so called multi-generational 500 year “dynasty” trusts. Or, perhaps nothing that sexy: a simple revocable trust that becomes irrevocable when you die, to benefit your spouse and then children and grandchildren for 2, 3, 4 or perhaps even more generations.

There is no such thing as a guaranteed “anything” in this world, and the same certainly holds true for family wealth in the trust world: there is no guaranteed inheritance. Even when your family is crazy rich.

In yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, www.wsj.com, reporter Farhad Manjoo provided some of the best advice that can be given to the individual who serves as trustee. (See “HIGH DEFINITION” page B 1.) Although Farhad was writing about Twitter and speaking to investors generally, he could have been addressing the individual trustee.

Is now a good time for Florida trustees to invest trust asset overseas? Today’s Wall Street Journal, www.wsj.com, saw much commentary on investing offshore.

Did someone just die and leave a Florida estate? Maybe you just lost your aunt in Aventura, Florida. You knew that she lived in an expensive condo and was married to a successful business owner who died years ago. So, you think your aunt may have died rich. You are wondering if she left you anything. Then you get a letter from a Palm Beach law firm that you have to sign for. Inside the letter is an official looking document called “notice of administration.” What in world is that and what should you do? Here are the five most common probate questions that you may need answers to if you are thinking of getting involved in a Florida estate.