Inheritance disputes are continuing to rise. As family wealth increases and estates become more complex, so too do the tensions that can emerge after a death, often pitting siblings, stepfamilies and trustees against one another in emotionally charged legal battles.
Already a familiar tool in divorce and commercial disputes, mediation is increasingly being used at an earlier stage in inheritance claims. Such cases are rarely just about the law and more often involve grief, long-standing tensions and fractured family dynamics.
Matthew Fleming, head of family governance and succession at Stonehage Fleming, tells Spear’s the trend reflects both rising wealth and very human reactions to it.
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‘There are a growing number of inheritance disputes because with increased wealth – more families becoming more wealthy – all the normal human emotions take over. Wherever there is money there is greed, jealousy, envy, and lack of understanding,’ he says, adding that mediation is a ‘very effective way for families to address these issues’, as it can encourage them to find a collective sense of purpose or establish a family decision-making framework.
Mediation is a way of resolving disputes without going to court and is increasingly viewed as a practical means of settling inheritance claims early.
The process brings all parties together in a confidential setting to explore possible solutions, usually with the help of a trained mediator. When done well, it can avoid lengthy and expensive legal battles, protect the value of an estate and offer a quicker, more private and less stressful alternative to litigation. By avoiding the courtroom altogether, it can also help prevent family relationships from breaking down.
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The courts are increasingly encouraging its use. While judges have long paused cases to allow mediation to take place, a 2023 Court of Appeal ruling in Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil further reinforced their powers to require parties to engage in alternative dispute resolution.
What often intensifies inheritance disputes is the way money comes to stand in for deeper issues of fairness and recognition within a family. Arabella Murphy of Propitious, who has more than 25 years’ experience helping wealthy families plan for the future, tells Spear’s that beneficiaries often interpret unequal inheritance as a reflection of how they were valued, rather than as an estate-planning decision.
‘Rightly or wrongly, people equate money and love,’ she explains, meaning a claim may be driven as much by a desire for equal standing as by the pursuit of a larger share of an estate.
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These reactions are rarely new. More often, Murphy notes, they draw on long-standing family dynamics that resurface once a death forces conversations about distribution. Resolving the legal dispute, she adds, does not necessarily address why emotions escalated in the first place.
Courts, however, are not designed to deal with these underlying issues. Withers partner Dawn Goodman tells Spear’s that judges can rule on entitlement, but they lack the capacity to help families work through grief, resentment or deeply held views about their upbringing. Nor, she adds, do courts ‘have the flexibility to impose a compromise’.
Mediation, by contrast, allows concerns and expectations to be explored more fully. ‘More imaginative ideas can be discussed through mediation,’ Goodman says, and ‘at least the family can work towards finding a middle ground and in most cases arrive at a compromise’.
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Kedge Martin, founder and CEO of succession and wealth advisory firm KM Advisory, tells Spear’s that mediation enables families to address what she describes as ‘human capital rather than family capital’.
‘The traditional legal system is not designed for that,’ she notes. ‘Mediation shifts the focus from confrontation to problem solving. Families keep agency rather than often handing over control to the courts.’
It can also resolve disputes far more quickly. Martin points out that mediation commonly settles cases within weeks or months, at a fraction of the cost of litigation, adding that choosing mediation should be seen not as a compromise but as a ‘sophisticated and strategic choice’.
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Privacy is another factor drawing families towards mediation. As Marcus Yorke-Long, head of private office at Charles Russell Speechlys, explains, ‘inheritance disputes often involve airing what would otherwise be private family business; clients and the family offices advising them are drawn to mediation for the privacy it provides and as each party commits to keep the process confidential’.
Mediation can also work particularly well in multi-jurisdictional disputes, where family members are based across different countries. ‘All claims can be dealt with in one forum,’ Yorke-Long adds, noting that such ‘safe, structured and private’ settings are more flexible than courts and ‘can be modified to adapt to particular family and cultural sensitivities’.
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All the mediation and inheritance experts who spoke to Spear’s agree that the process is most effective when used early, before litigation becomes entrenched. ‘The longer the litigation goes on, the more likely it is that familial relationships will be permanently fractured,’ Murphy notes, adding that ‘by settling early, you take the toxicity out of the picture, and [families] may be able to recover their relationships if they wish to’.
‘By agreeing to mediate, families are showing they are at the point where they want the dispute to end. Being pronounced right or wrong by a judge is less important than ending the bitterness and expense involved in litigation,’ she adds.
Martin agrees. For her, mediation in inheritance disputes is ultimately about ‘helping families understand that legacy is not just about assets passed on but the quality of relationships left behind’.
