What we do · Contested Estates
When the Family Does Not Agree
Where entitlement is disputed, the most useful thing a custodian can do is hold the property, document it, and make no decisions at all.
No fee to talk it through, and no client details needed to start. If the timing is urgent, call rather than email.
Witnessed
Inventory signed by two attendants and by you
Named
Access limited to individuals you name in writing
1983
Operating on the Galt Ocean Mile since
Honoured
Valid legal process, and we publish that
Property in the hands of one party
While a dispute runs, estate property is usually with whichever relative has it. That party is then simultaneously a claimant and the custodian, which is an impossible position for them and an intolerable one for everybody else. Every day it continues, the dispute gets more personal.
What neutral custody provides
- Property out of any interested party's personal possession.
- A dated inventory that all sides can see.
- Release only on documented authority or court direction.
- A record of every access, available to all parties' counsel.
- No decisions taken by us about who is entitled to what.
How we handle it
- 01Accept instruction only from someone with documented authority.
- 02Inventory thoroughly, since the record will be scrutinized.
- 03Hold, releasing nothing without authority or an order.
- 04Provide identical records to every party you name.
- 05Comply with any court direction.
The single most useful property of neutral custody is that it lowers the temperature. Once nobody has the property, the argument becomes about entitlement rather than about possession, and entitlement is something lawyers and courts can actually resolve.
Said plainly
Where we stop
We take no view on who is entitled to anything, and we will not be persuaded to. If you want an advocate, that is your attorney. We are a place for the property to be while they do their work.
Common questions
- Will you decide who gets what?
- No, never. We hold, document and release on documented authority or court direction.
- Can all parties see the inventory?
- Anyone the instructing party names in writing, and anyone a court directs.
- What if we get a court order?
- We comply with valid orders. We publish that position rather than leaving it vague.
- Can two parties jointly instruct?
- Yes, and where a dispute is likely it is often the cleanest arrangement. Set it up at the start.
Who you are
Personal Representatives
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Probate Attorneys
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Beneficiaries
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Trustees
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Before Anyone Is Appointed
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Tell us what needs to move.
What, from where, and roughly when. You do not need an inventory to start the conversation, and if the job belongs with an armored carrier we will say so on the call.