Partner and Head of JMW’s Disputed Wills team Alison Parry and trainee solicitor Matilda Hall have settled a long running claim brought by a cohabitant of the Deceased against the Deceased’s estate. The cohabitant had lived with the Deceased for the last few years of their life.  Alison and Matilda acted for the Deceased’s children who had been left the entirety of the estate under the Will and felt that the Deceased had clearly expressed their wishes in the Will and had deliberately not included the cohabitant who was financially secure in their own right.

The dispute settled at mediation, shortly after proceedings had been issued but before the court papers had been served, when the legal costs would have increased significantly.

How JMW helped?

JMW were able to help our clients settle the legal claim at mediation; an alternative form of dispute resolution to court proceedings.  Mediation is an opportunity for parties (often family) to resolve a dispute in private and potentially avoid costly and time-consuming court proceedings.

In this case, court proceedings had been issued and not served which opened the door to mediation. Parties are obliged to comply with certain steps when issuing court proceedings. For a contentious probate claim, this procedure comes from the ‘pre-action protocol’ set by the court and from the ‘ACTAPS Code’, which is a code set out by the Association of Contentious Trusts and Probate Specialists.

Once the parties are aware of the nature of the claim, the protocol and the ACTAPS Code suggest attempts are made to resolve the dispute if possible and one way of trying to do that is through mediation with the help of a professional and independent mediator. Mediation is well suited to resolving these types of claims and can often be an effective way to reach a fair settlement which ultimately removes the distress caused to the parties (financially and emotionally) and allows them to move forward with their lives.

The Outcome

JMW’s clients’ said:

“At a very emotional time for me and my family, after recommendations from trusted friends, we employed JMW to deal with a claim against my family. This proved to be a very positive decision, as they guided us through the process, fully explaining the pros and cons of every step of the way. The professionalism of Alison Parry and Matilda Hall throughout concluded with a positive result for our family.”