Estate Administration and Estate Planning Mediation

If you recently lost a loved one or close friend, you are probably feeling a torrent of emotions as you reflect on the relationship, the fragility of life, and the financial and practical implications for you now this person has passed. Executors, trustees, guardians, and conservators, meanwhile, must navigate often competing claims and interests while endeavoring to settle and administer the estate in concert with the wishes of the deceased.

Whereas probate court (when applicable) or civil litigation are always options for aggrieved parties, mediation provides a better alternative. Your mediator will manage a constructive conversation among parties to the dispute — typically family members and one or more agents of the deceased person — in the private and legally confid­ent­ial setting of the mediator's office.

Our mediators can convene such a meeting and then help clarify misconceptions and facilitate creative dispute resolution. Moreover, you won’t expend thousands of dollars in fees while fueling the bitterness and hatred that are characteristic of contested inheritances. If that sounds like a better way through for everyone, contact your mediator to set up an initial consultation.

Estate Administration

A good estate plan ensures not only a tax-efficient transfer of wealth but also protection of loved ones and respect for your right to make your own decisions. If you have a spouse, children, or valuable assets, you may have invested a king’s ransom in profess­ional fees to create your estate plan.

That was doubtless money well spent. But have you spent any time sharing your intentions with loved ones? Sharing intentions is the most effective safeguard against conflict among beneficiaries during the administration of an estate.

As attorney Patti Spencer observes in her recent article on mediation of estate disputes: “Communicating the plan and addressing the issues before death is the best gift you can give your beneficiaries. It is not bad manners to talk about the estate plan, and it will not make matters worse. What makes matters worse is leaving the children to fight after [you] are gone. If you are afraid to tell your kids what your estate plan is you are leaving them a legacy of acrimony.”

Talk to one of our mediators to explore the potential of a mediated conversation with family members (and any other beneficiaries you’d like to include). Your mediator will not only guide the meeting, but will also help you prepare for it, plan an agenda that accomplishes your goals, and, if you wish, brief beneficiaries in advance of the meeting.