Posted: Thursday, 4 December 2025 @ 10:15
We deal with many inheritance disputes and here are some key ways to damage them which we have seen.
These include:
1. Lack of understanding of how a case will play out. Fundamentally when I start taking instructions on a case what I am looking to do is to understand is what has happened, what the parties have done and ultimately where the case is heading. Is the matter going to be resolved by negotiation or is it going to Court? And if it is going to Court what is going to happen and what steps can we take to influence the outcome in our direction? If you do not have this understanding you are likely to have a poor outcome.
2 Parties act as if they know best. It is correct that the lawyer and the client should engage and act as a team and give mutual feedback. However what can happen particularly on lengthy disputes is that parties can get over absorbed on a case and start acting seeking to dictate terms and disregard advice. This can have damaging consequences later for outcomes.
3 Over-emotional. It is inevitable that if one has been wronged one is going to feel sad and angry. However if anger manifests in correspondence this can be acutely damaging for long term prospects in Court in both the outcome or recovery of legal costs. To give perspective it is quite possible that one email/letter can damage what would otherwise be a strong case.
4 Failure to focus on core Issues. Due to the breakdown in relations typically between family members and the fact that one is involved in litigation what can happen is that parties and their legal teams can focus/spend time and money on issues which do not relate to the issues which determine the outcome. There is no need to do this.
5 Failure to risk manage. When we go to Court you put our dispute in the hands of a third party, namely the judge. What we are trying to do is to minimise any possible reasons to upset the judge. Examples of failures to manage risk include - lawyers putting high costs bills forward, parties getting involved in separate disputes which show poor conduct and parties refusing to mediate. When I litigate I am looking to minimise points of dispute and keep it narrow. Why give a judge an excuse to rule against your client? Never ever be complacent even on the strongest cases.