Practice area
Mediation for estate, elder and family disputes
Litigation over an estate can run for years and consume a meaningful part of what everyone is fighting over. Mediation offers a private, faster alternative in which the parties, rather than a judge, decide the outcome.
Mediation is a confidential process in which a neutral mediator facilitates a conversation between parties in dispute, reflecting back what each side has said so that a negotiated resolution becomes possible. Suzanne Levy is appointed to the Part 146 Mediator Rosters for the Surrogate's Court in New York, Westchester and Suffolk Counties, serves as a Mediator in the 3rd and 4th Surrogate's Court Judicial Districts, handles mediations for the Commercial Division in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, and acts as a Special Master handling Surrogate's Court appeals for the Appellate Division, Second Department. She is also an approved FINRA arbitrator.
When families come to us about this
Siblings in conflict over a parent's estate
Decades of family history are usually sitting underneath an estate dispute. A court can divide assets, but it cannot resolve the relationship. Mediation can address both at once.
A judge has directed you to mediate
In many matters litigation begins and the judge then directs the parties to mediate before proceeding further. That referral is an opportunity rather than an obstacle.
A dispute over a parent's care
Disagreements about where a parent should live, who should be making decisions, and how their money should be used are often better handled in a facilitated conversation than in a courtroom.
You want to resolve it privately
Court files are public. Mediation is confidential, which matters a great deal to families who do not want the details of their affairs on a public docket.
How the process works
There are two routes into mediation, and they work slightly differently.
- Private mediationThe parties select the mediator themselves. It is entirely voluntary: the parties can terminate the mediation at any time, or adjourn and reconvene on another day.
- Court-ordered or presumptive mediationThe mediator is selected by the judge or by the Alternative Dispute Resolution coordinator, who is an employee of the New York court system. This is usually offered as a free 90-minute period, after which the mediator may charge an hourly rate. The parties can terminate after the free period.
- The mediator's roleThe mediator is not a judge and not an arbitrator, and is completely neutral. They do not impose an outcome. They support the parties in reaching a negotiated settlement.
- The role of the attorneysEach party's attorney is there to support their client and advise them on the law. The mediator does not advise either side.
- ConfidentialityMediation is confidential. Information shared in the process is confidential, subject to what the parties agree and to material that is independently discoverable. The process works best when parties participate fully and information is exchanged freely.
- The outcomeMediation is non-binding unless the parties settle and enter into an agreement, which is typically drafted by the attorneys representing the parties. If mediation does not resolve the dispute, the parties return to court and nothing is lost.
Why trust and estate mediation specifically
The large commercial dispute resolution panels have built substantial rosters in areas such as maritime, aviation and asbestos matters. Trusts and estates is not one of the areas they meaningfully cover, and their fee structures put them out of reach for many families in any event.
- Estate disputes are simultaneously legal and personal, and they need a mediator who is fluent in both dimensions.
- Surrogate's Court practice has its own procedures and its own culture, which is not interchangeable with commercial litigation.
- Suzanne mediates in this area specifically and is on the court rosters for it, rather than treating it as an adjacent speciality.
- The mediator's function here is to facilitate rather than to draft. Not being the drafting attorney is part of what keeps the role genuinely neutral.
- Mediation lets the parties be the architects of their own agreement and self-determine the outcome of the dispute.
- It saves significant legal fees and time, and it can preserve family and business relationships that still have to function afterwards.
- It has a real record of concluding decades-long feuds that everyone involved had assumed were unresolvable.
Where we handle these matters
Suzanne mediates matters arising in the Surrogate's Courts of New York, Westchester and Suffolk Counties under the Part 146 rosters, in the 3rd and 4th Surrogate's Court Judicial Districts, and in the Commercial Division in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Private mediations are arranged directly with the parties. Sessions are frequently conducted remotely, which makes it practical for family members in different states to take part.
Mediation: common questions
More questions are answered on the firm's FAQ page.
Is mediation binding?
Not by itself. Mediation is non-binding unless the parties reach a settlement and sign an agreement, which is normally drafted by the attorneys representing them. Until that point either side can walk away.
What happens if mediation does not work?
The parties return to court and the litigation continues. Because the process is confidential, an unsuccessful mediation does not damage anyone's position, apart from material that would have been discoverable anyway.
Is what I say in mediation confidential?
Yes. Mediation is a confidential process, subject to what the parties themselves agree and to information that is independently discoverable. That confidentiality is why the process works: it allows people to speak frankly in a way they would not in open court.
How is a mediator different from a judge or an arbitrator?
A judge and an arbitrator both decide the outcome. A mediator does neither. The mediator is completely neutral and facilitates the conversation so that the parties can reach their own negotiated settlement; they remain the decision-makers throughout.
What does court-ordered mediation cost?
Court-ordered mediation is usually offered as a free 90-minute period, after which the mediator may charge an hourly rate. The parties are free to end the mediation at the close of the free period. Private mediation fees are agreed with the parties in advance.
Can mediation work when the family has been fighting for years?
It frequently does, and that is much of the reason this firm believes in it. Mediation has a demonstrated record of concluding long-running family feuds that the parties themselves had written off as unresolvable, because it addresses what people actually want to say rather than only the legal claims on the pleadings.
Considering mediation instead of a prolonged estate dispute?
Most families come to us with a decision that already feels overdue. A first conversation is about understanding where you actually stand and what your options are.