Family Estate Settlement

The Challenge

An ambiguously worded will left three siblings deadlocked over a mixed estate of real property, a closely held family business and an art collection — each with very different financial needs, tax exposure and emotional attachments. Communication had broken down, two of the siblings had retained adversarial counsel, and a probate filing was days away from triggering a multi-year contested proceeding that would have consumed the estate in legal fees.

Our Approach

We paused the litigation track and designed a bespoke mediation process anchored by three independent valuations — real estate, business equity and fine art — so every conversation started from agreed numbers rather than competing assumptions. A phased distribution plan was drafted to honour the spirit of the will while solving for each sibling's specific concerns: liquidity for one, continuity of the business for another, and custody of sentimental assets for the third. Tax counsel ran the plan in parallel to ensure no party would be penalised by the structure.

The Result

Full settlement agreement signed by all three parties inside three months, with zero court hearings and no probate contest filed. The family business transitioned cleanly to the sibling who had been running it, the real estate was divided without forced sale, and the art collection stayed intact under a shared custody arrangement. Most importantly to our clients, the siblings remain on speaking terms — a result the family values more than any dollar figure on the settlement sheet.

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