"Irwin Joseph was able to quickly understand the issues and
articulate the strengths and weaknesses of each party’s case. He then
gently persuaded each side that settlement was in their best interest.
Both my client and I were very happy with the service he
provided."
Mary F.
So. California
Probate Attorney
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Mediation of Probate
and Estate Litigation
There is a bit
of a natural selection process in the world of Probate law.
Lots of
Probate Attorneys either dislike the thought of litigation or never developed
the skills for litigation (not for lack of ability). They would rather never see the inside of a courtroom,
except to attend brief calendars to process their cases. The thought of a trial with a zealous
advocate on the other side is not appealing.
These fine
lawyers, whose practice doesn’t include things like Law and Motion Calendars,
Depositions, Retaining Experts, and
Discovery Plans, usually refer their Estate Litigation cases to other
attorneys in their community for litigation management.
Probate Mediation is an Underused Process
Mediating
Probate cases is a lot like mediating Family Law cases. The two sides usually know one another
and have more than a passing, business relationship. There is a history to the dispute. There is emotion tied to the dispute. No one wants to feel like a loser. Everyone wants speedy resolution. No one wants the litigation fees to eat
up the source of recovery. Everyone wants the opportunity to be heard.
Yet, there
aren’t a lot of options for those seeking resolution of Probate disputes outside of the Courtroom. There are very few skilled
professionals doing Probate Mediation.
Probate
Attorneys and their clients should be encouraged to investigate settlement at
every opportunity. In some
instances, mediation should be considered prior to expensive discovery, and
prior to a hand-off to a litigator.
In other, more complex cases, post-discovery, pre-trial-setting mediation should be
utilized to save the money, time, litigation expense, uncertainty, risk and emotional wear-and-tear
that are factors in all matters going to trial.
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