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Mediation for Trust & Estate Disputes 2025

Published: 17-02-2025 Authors: Sharee Cavanaugh, Greg Kelly, Kevin Lenahan Pages: 31

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This book is only available in PDF format

Authors: Sharee Cavanaugh, Greg Kelly, Kevin Lenahan
Published: 17 February 2025
Pages: 31

Introduction

Mediation is increasingly viewed as a faster and more effective method of resolving trust and estate disputes than going through the litigation process. It has numerous benefits, including:

• it can take place any time – before court proceedings are filed, during the litigation process, and/or by court order;
• it is usually faster, and less expensive, than litigation;
• settlements can be reached which provide much more flexible and bespoke solutions than are necessarily available to a court;
• it empowers participants to find a solution they can live with, rather than having an outcome imposed on them; and
• it can in some cases help families move forward after airing out their grievances and resolving the disputes.

This paper will focus on effectively resolving trust and estate disputes at mediation. It will first look at getting to mediation, including using the court-ordered mediation provisions in the Trusts Act 2019.

It will provide an overview of effectively preparing for mediation so that you can maximise the use of the day itself, including providing written advice, setting client expectations, attending preliminary meetings with the mediator, and preparing and circulating position statements.

It will also address navigating the mediation day and its immediate aftermath in a way that protects your position as a lawyer, as well as meeting your client’s needs.

Finally, it will consider documenting mediated settlements in the trust and estate context so that your resolution is watertight and avoids common problems that can undermine a mediated settlement.