Posted: Sunday, 11 August 2024 @ 07:18
Much has been written about the rising number of inheritance disputes over recent years. Data consistently reveals that the number of disputes over Wills going to the High Court and the long term trend.
These are case which go to Court; most cases settle, so the
issue is understated.
The factors explaining rising numbers of inheritance disputes
include:
- The passing of the property-rich baby boomer
generation, which has increased the financial stakes for descendants. Private
wealth holdings (such as property, land and financial assets such as shares) are up
from three times in the 1970s. That is, they have been rising in value at just
over twice the pace of the economy.
- Increases in blended families such as second
marriages leading to children being disinherited;
- An increased willingness of people to sue. There is more awareness of the right to challenge wills, driven
by media coverage of cases and tv shows like Channel 5’s Inheritance Wars: Who
Gets the Money?
All well and good.
Whilst the above factors account for the rise in inheritance
disputes, it does not explain the ultimate driver of why so many find themselves
in a dispute.
The main reasons for an inheritance dispute often stems from
a lack of trust with family members and the overwhelming sense of emotion.
Recently I was at a law conference and one lawyer explained
what he thought the ultimate driver of the inheritance dispute he was involved
in, namely an incident which occurred in childhood for one of the parties. The ultimate driver of this dispute was the fact
that one of the parties held a resentment from many years before.