Foppiano Vineyards is a California winery that produces a well-regarded petit syrah. Unfortunately, the vineyard has fallen on hard times as the family members have fought over control of the family trust, which is worth somewhere in the tens of millions of dollars. Their story provides a good example of why Buffalo residents should make sure they select their trustees carefully.

The story starts in 2009 when Louis J. Foppiano, who is now 101 years old, named his children Susan and Louis co-trustees of the trust in which he stashed the family fortune.

Unfortunately for him, it seems that Susan and Louis Jr. could not get along. The winery, which Louis Jr. took over in 2005, began to struggle under Louis Jr.'s control (it's been dependent on bank loans since 2008) and then Susan sued Louis Jr. to remove him as a trustee because, she alleged, he was misusing trust funds and was taking out trust-backed loans to pay himself.

The siblings recently settled out of court mid-trial. While that settles the immediate issue, it does not make everything perfect. The winery has $4.1 million in debt and a tarnished reputation and the trust is still collateral for loans that Louis Jr. took out.

The moral of the story here is that anyone establishing a trust should make sure they are picking responsible, trustworthy trustees. It can be hard for mothers and fathers, for example, to acknowledge that their son is a spendthrift or their daughter is irresponsible, but it is best to recognize those traits and realize they mean that son or daughter would not make a good trustee.

Source: The Press Democrat, "Foppiano wine family settles dispute in mid-trial," Paul Payne, Dec. 22, 2011