Then, no matter whether a trustee tilts portfolio investments toward growth or toward income, somebody's unhappy.

FORBES: In growth we trust

Now, you could create a legal document appointing a paid trustee to oversee your investments, but this option typically leads to an expensive, actively-managed, mediocre-performing, bank-managed portfolio that stays locked-up forever and ever.

FORBES: My Spouse Will Call You When I'm Dead

In order to claw back the Mets owners' principal investments, the trustee must prove that the defendants willfully ignored warning signs that Mr. Madoff was operating a fraudulent enterprise.

WSJ: Mets Owners Must Return Madoff Profits, Face Trial