Fiduciary Mediation Services

The process of settling estates and trusts can be emotionally difficult and sometimes leads to disputes among beneficiaries. In most estates and trusts the decedent and beneficiaries are related, and family dynamics may transform the settlement process into a psychological and financial minefield. When disputes arise, they typically concern one or more of the following issues:

• dividing the decedent's tangible personal property
• allocating the tax burden among the beneficiaries
• determining how money given to a beneficiary before the decedent's death should affect the allocation of the remaining estate assets
• deciding whether a beneficiary's receipt of non-probate assets (e.g., life insurance) should affect the division of the probate assets
• evaluating the performance of the executor (often a family member)
• resolving conflicting interests of the various beneficiaries of a trust (e.g., income and remainder beneficiaries)
• reconciling different approaches of co-executors or co-trustees

Mediation can be an effective way to resolve disputes. The mediator is a neutral professional who helps parties reach agreement in an informal, non-adversarial way. Mediation is particularly useful in situations in which the involved parties will have an ongoing relationship, as is the case with family members involved in estate and trust settlement, so that resolving the dispute in a mutually satisfactory way is important.

The mediator can also be helpful in situations where beneficiaries anticipate disputes. For example, children of a deceased parent may be concerned that the process of distributing the tangible personal property will be difficult and therefore decide that it would be useful to have a mediator assist with the distribution process.