A PROTRACTED legal battle which saw a wrongly-drafted will tear a family apart is proof of the increasing need for fragmented families to take thorough legal advice over estates and trusts, according to a Liverpool law firm.
India Buildings-based Mace & Jones is launching a new contentious trusts and estates unit in response to increased demand for the service.
Private client partner Peter Houghton said this week's high profile case of the Sprackling family, which saw three adult children fall out spectacularly with their step mother, is a strong example of why "modern" families need good legal advice.
Mr Houghton said: "Society is now much more fragmented than before.
"There are many more second marriages, step parents and step children. This means more wills are being contested and sadly more families are falling out over inheritance as the Sprackling case so graphically shows."
The firm hopes its new unit will help avoid disputes through "thorough planning".
Mr Houghton added: "If there are problems our dispute resolution specialists, within our new unit, can help resolve differences as amicably as possible. Equally we can fight your corner where necessary."
Mr Houghton said it has often dealt with cases where wills have either not been updated, or not existed at all. The cost of resolving these cases in court far exceeds the cost of drawing up even the most complex will.
He added: "A will should be reviewed at least every five years to take into account tax changes and life changes, it does not need to be onerous or time consuming."
Mr Houghton said research from Lawpack revealed almost two thirds of Britons have not made arrangements for their will.
"When you consider that a survey by Scottish Widows revealed that one in 10 adults in the UK have fallen out with a family member over an inheritance you can see how vital it is to have a properly drafted will.
"We would always recommend that not only is your will drafted by a solicitor but that given the modern family dynamic that it is drafted by a solicitor who specialises in wills and tax planning and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners."