George Clooneys New Movie Offers Informative, Entertaining Look at Trusts

Feb 07, 2012| BY: Wade Law Offices

George Clooney is starring in a movie about a family trust. Yes, you read correctly.
The Descendants, which opened in select theaters last month, offers a great depiction of what the Trust industry is all about.

The film comes from the creators of Sideways and About Schmidt. It tells a humorous and tragic story of Clooneys character Matt King, a father who must re-examine his past and face his future when his wife suffers a boating accident. King is also a land baron in charge of property handed down through generations from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries.

Difficult Decisions for Trustees

Amid trying to reconnect with his two daughters, King struggles with a decision on whether to sell the familys lush land in Kauai. He is torn between cash-strapped beneficiaries and the original intent of the family trust to preserve the land for future generations.

The scenario King faces as both a Beneficiary and a Trustee mirrors real-life dilemmas and tough decisions faced by Trustees every day. King just wants to do the right thing. But doing what is right isnt always popular.

Legal bloggers have written that the film is reminiscent of Hawaiis billion-dollar Campbell Estate and of the Bishop Estate, created by Charles Reed Bishop, a banker who married Hawaiian Princess Bernice Pauahi. (See: www.thetrustadvisor.com/news/descendants )

Real Life Families, Real Life Drama

Hawaiis 107-year-old Campbell Estate dissolved in 2007. Some grandchildren of the original grantor took a cash disbursement and paid the tax accruing, but most rolled their interests into a new national real estate corporation. The estate had to distribute its tax liabilities and assets to the beneficiaries.

The Bishop Estate was founded by missionaries as a non-profit trust that could have lasted indefinitely if it had not been restructured after a scandal.

I think this film should be required viewing for Advisors and Trustees alike. It offers Trustees and potential Grantors a look at what can go wrong when circumstances take a family trust off course.

To learn more about the movie, visit the official homepage: www.foxsearchlight.com/thedescendants.