Four Reasons Why Your Family Should Choose Probate Mediation Instead of Going to Court
When a beloved family member passes away, the family he or she leaves behind is often in significant turmoil and grief. Add to this the problems that can often arise after granting probate to the executor, and suddenly, family disagreements over probate can turn a family that was once close knit into a family that can barely stand to be in the room with each other.
No doubt about it—distribution of an estate’s assets and property is one of the most conflict-ridden types of legal process there is. When a family decides to take this conflict to the probate courts, the conflict is often greatly multiplied due to the adversarial process of litigation. In addition, a probate court judge does not adequately deal with the underlying causes that caused probate problems in the first place. He or she will simply make a decision and the family will have to live with it.
Probate mediation, however, works differently and is a far less contentious way of dealing with issues that arise during probate.
- First, probate mediation saves time and money for the family.
- Second, probate mediation is completely confidential, allowing the family to keep its conflict away from public scrutiny.
- Third, probate mediation keeps the control of the outcome in the hands of the family members, rather than in the hands of the probate judge.
- And finally, perhaps most importantly, probate mediation allows the family to communicate their grievances in such a way as to clear the air and get to the root cause of the issue (which is often far removed from the present-day conflict).
This type of open discussion and exploration of the root cause of the conflict not only helps the family to heal—it helps the family to move beyond the problem and build a better relationship with each other. In most cases, this is exactly what the family member who has passed away would want. It is in this exploration of the underlying issues and open communication that probate mediation shows its most beneficial quality—preserving relationships and de-escalating tension.
