Multimillion Dollar Probate Case Settled at Mediation

Robinson & Henry’s knowledgeable attorneys give their professional insight in “From Our Perspective,” where we take a closer look at successful outcomes achieved by our attorneys. 

In this episode, Robinson & Henry Probate Partner Elizabeth German discusses a case involving a complex estate dispute that had been dragging on for over a year.

The litigation, centered around a contested estate and trust, involved missed deadlines and failed mediation attempts. Despite the challenges, our team successfully negotiated a favorable settlement through mediation for our clients, recovering their share of the trust plus an additional $200,000 to $250,000.

Past results afford no guarantee of future results; each matter is different and must be judged on its own merits. Facts are those of an actual Robinson & Henry probate case. 

After more than a year of complex estate litigation while working with another attorney, two clients were desperate for a resolution. Their case involved a disputed family trust with numerous legal filings and two failed mediation attempts. 

Their previous attorney dropped the case due to its complexity, and a trial was looming.  The clients turned to German and her team for help.

German quickly discovered that the previous attorney had missed critical deadlines and key motions and had set expectations too high for the legal realities of the case. These oversights created significant challenges for German and her team, and they had to act fast.

Upon review, German determined that some claims were no longer viable due to procedural missteps. She gave the clients a candid assessment of the case’s standing and realigned their expectations to reflect what she could reasonably achieve.

The team quickly evaluated the active filings, identified core legal issues, and established a path forward. They balanced the need for strategic planning with the urgency of a fast-approaching trial date.

Despite the challenges, German quickly identified a strategy to resolve the dispute and avoided a costly trial.

One of the biggest hurdles was time. A three-day trial was just around the corner, and the discovery materials were incomplete.

Germain decided to prioritize mediation, which offers clients a strong legal positioning at a cost-effective price tag. Despite two earlier failed mediation attempts, German’s team was confident they could succeed with a new approach. This time, they brought in a mediator with experience in complex trust and estate cases. They spoke candidly with opposing counsel and helped their clients reset expectations.  The strategy paid off.

Despite over a year of disputes and failed talks, the parties reached an agreement in a single day of mediation, and it was well worth it for the clients.

Through focused preparation and effective negotiation, our team guided the parties to a resolution that provided the clients with their full statutory entitlement under the trust and an additional recovery of approximately $200,000 to $250,000.

This significant outcome ended the long-standing dispute without trial and helped the clients offset many legal fees they had already incurred. 

Our clients expressed relief and satisfaction with the resolution. They recovered financially and avoided further legal stress and expense.

German emphasized that selecting experienced representation is crucial in complex estate and probate matters. She advises prospective clients to prioritize communication, verify an attorney’s litigation experience, and understand that resolving estate disputes often requires time, patience, and careful strategy.

Despite setbacks and delays, our knowledgeable probate team can deliver results and closure when clients need it most.

While estate and trust disputes are often emotional and legally complex, this case shows that a thoughtful approach, clear communication, and skilled negotiation can turn even the most complicated probate litigation into a success story.

Read this video’s full transcript: 

Question: Liz, thanks for joining me. Tell me more about our client and the estate dispute. 

Liz: We had a couple of clients, there were two that came to us that actually had been involved in litigation for over a year relating to an estate and actually a trust. There were three different cases that we found that had things going on in them. Multiple pleadings, lots of disputes, motions back and forth and unfortunately, their prior attorney told them they weren't able to handle that breadth and scope of a case. 

They came to us for help with negotiating a resolution that it actually already been set for trial. And there were some very quick motion responses that we had to jump on when we got brought on board. 

Question: What were some of those challenges that you identified? 

Liz: Their expectations from prior counsel might not have been exactly the way we would have approached the case.

There were some deadlines missed and we had to, unfortunately, be very frank with them in our legal assessment of what claims they could continue with and realign their expectations with what we believed was actually a normal recovery scenario for them. 

Question: How did some of the complexities in a case like this, how did that affect your legal strategy?

Liz: Obviously, when you're taking on a case that another attorney has done and you're a year into it, you've got a lot of ramp up. Fortunately, we had an associate that I was able to work with on our team that was able to jump in and get their arms around it. 

Very quickly, we could issue, identify and come up with a strategy for the client to get them the best resolution we believed with where the cases were legally postured for, as well as to try to save them money. Because we were looking at a fairly quick three-day trial coming up, and there were lots of things in terms of discovery that we were lacking to move forward with. 

Question: As you mentioned, this case was headed for trial. How did you successfully bring it to mediation?

Liz: Well, the case actually already had two prior failed mediations with former counsel, the parties just could not agree on a resolution. In having a frank discussion with opposing counsel and with our clients and realigning their expectations, we got them to agree to come back to the table to mediate. 

By picking a experienced mediator who had these types of cases before and worked on, we were able to get everybody on board with an agreement and completing the mediation in one day, which was great because it made it so the clients didn't have to expend any more fees for our services and ongoing litigation, because they had spent quite a bit of money up to that point. 

Question: Ultimately, what was the outcome?  And the client's reaction? 

Liz: We were able to get an agreement which would pay out our clients fairly quickly. It would dissolve the trust, entitle them to their statutory portion under the trust.

And then we were able to actually recover another probably about $200,000 to $250,000 for them which would allow them to kind of recover some of those attorney fees that they expended on the litigation up to that point. They were very happy with that resolution. 

Question: What advice do you give to clients who are dealing with a complex estate and probate matter? 

Liz: That there's not a quick resolution. We, as attorneys, do our best to try to give you our best advice, but it is a process. So starting with a good idea of what you want as a resolution and then talking to an experienced attorney.