People make provisions in their Will for all kinds of reasons.

Sometimes family members disagree or feel the Will maker got it wrong. Some common causes include:

• Blended families
• People marrying or living with more than one partner throughout their lifetime
• strained family relationships
• elder abuse and undue influence
• we are generally living longer and make more than one Will during our lifetime

It’s important to remember that a person can make whatever provisions they wish to in their Will.

There are limited situations in which estate claims can be validly made. Being left out of a Will is generally not one of them unless certain criteria can be satisfied**

If you do meet the criteria and make a claim on the estate, Mediation will be a mandatory part of proceedings.

But it is important to know that mediation can happen at any time.

Our advice? Mediate sooner than later. It will save you a lot of time, money and stress when you are already mourning the passing of your loved one. It will bring peace to your family sooner, and prevent unnecessary waste from being drawn from the pool of assets for distribution.