A recently reported probate case revealed that an entire estate had been exhausted by the litigation – there was nothing left. Bleak House is alive and well. The passion of one beneficiary to assert his rights – or rather, to defeat the remainder of the family – had outstripped every other consideration, leaving no winners but a great deal of anger and resentment.
Wills are notorious for setting family members against one another and the combination of money and emotion can be toxic. Sometimes it is true that litigation is necessary – not because of any acrimony but simply because there is an issue of construction requiring a judicial ruling. But these cases are quite rare and few lawyers would otherwise recom-mend litigation as a way of promoting peace and harmony, still less a mutually satisfactory outcome.
