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Inheritance Disputes - Wills & Probate Mediation

Mediation to solve inheritance problems in Bristol, London, Birmingham and Nationwide

Inheritance Disputes – Wills & Probate Mediation 

Whilst “inheritance disputes and wills and probate mediation” might be said to fall under the general heading of Commercial Mediation, particular considerations apply when people are feeling highly emotional and feeling the grief of bereavement on top of the turmoil of a dispute with close family members.

It’s also true to say that the “nuclear family” is a more fluid concept these days and more complex family relationships can make it more likely that disputes will arise about the division of an estate.  This can happen whether a Will has been made and is then under challenge, or whether no Will has been made at all.

It’s obvious that where close family members fall out to the extent that they are contemplating or engaging in litigation, all parties find the situation difficult and distressing.

As with all litigation, mediation helps to alleviate anxiety and aggression “turning the temperature down” and helping the parties involved in the conflict find a way to a satisfactory and peaceful resolution.

"After the family fell out over my father's estate it felt like the end of the world, but our mediator steered us to a result that saw us reconciled."

What Kinds Of Inheritance Disputes Can be Mediated?

 

By its very nature mediation has consistently proven to be the best way of resolving inheritance disputes without completely depleting the estate with the expense of litigation and it preserves the emotional and relationship capital among the family members when they have the opportunity to hear and be heard.

When they better understand one another, sometimes relationships that seemed to be too fraught and fractured can even be rekindled as a resolution emerges.

Even if family members are not completely reconciled, a successful mediation settlement allows each of them to recover a huge amount of peace of mind and get on with their lives free of the grinding rancour from such an ongoing dispute.

Our experienced inheritance dispute Mediators deal with every kind of situation you can think of (and many that won’t even occur).  However, we regularly deal with:

 

  • Disputes arising from the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975
  • Disputes involving trustees or executors such as allegations of fraud or failure to follow correct procedures
  • Conflict where undue influence or misappropriation or other malpractice is alleged
  • Cases where a dispute arises regarding testatory mental capacity
  • Disputes involving the efficacy of powers of attorney
  • Conflict arising from disagreements about the validity of Wills, “alternative” Wills or codicils

Top 5 Reasons To mediate An Inheritance Dispute

  1. Speed – mediation can usually be arranged within a week or two and will customarily take one day to carry out. Inheritance litigation takes an average of 18 months or more.
  1. Costs savings – 18 months of litigation expenses can be enormous. The cost of litigation is also very commonly vastly disproportionate to the total value of an estate. Mediation is a relatively very minor expense and the process is successful in providing an outcome that satisfies all parties in about 90% of all cases.
  1. Preserving family relationships – litigation, put simply, is a process that encourages antagonism. This naturally damages former relationships, but where families are concerned it can rend close bonds asunder forever.  Mediation will prevent a further deterioration of important family relationships and it even offers the possibility of restoring, at least to some degree, what might once have been very valued and very important family bonds.
  1. Flexibility – when parties get to Court they will find the end result of litigation is not only an empty wallet but a very soulless and solemn and inflexible edict that’s imposed upon them “from above”. Mediation is not like that at all.  By concentrating on what the parties actually value, what their priorities and real motivations and desires are, mediation can create truly bespoke and innovative solutions to problems that a Court and the litigation framework never could.
  1. Comfort and informality – grieving parties suffering through the trauma of bereavement can find litigation unbearable, particularly in the way that it is so very formal and impersonal. In a mediation they’ll find a comfortable, compassionate and informal place where they can feel safe and where they can unburden themselves confidentially and honestly.  The atmosphere that this provides, along with all of the other reasons detailed above, is why mediation is successful in almost every case.

"I hate conflict and I was at my wit's end with the thought of going to court to fight my siblings. Mediation really was the answer all along."

Mediate Your Inheritance Dispute Now

Get Back Your Peace of Mind And Get On With Your Life Without The Burden Of A Distressing Family Dispute…

All inheritance disputes are obliged by the Civil Procedure Rules to show that they have considered some form of mediation before commencing proceedings.  In fact, a Court has the power to impose heavy sanctions on costs for any party who is judged to have failed to engage towards settlement constructively.  So for all of those reasons inheritance disputes are best mediated, and if you would like to appoint one of the UK’s most experienced Wills and Probate mediators just contact us to get started now…