Our client, the biological child of the deceased was a person who throughout his whole life had been mistreated by his family. Thrown out of his home at the age of 16 he was forced to fend for himself and learn the realities of life from a very young age. Our client’s parents were both heavy drinkers and abused our client both emotionally and physically. Not surprisingly, our client from a young age started to pull away from his family and had very little contact with either his father or his mother. Even though our client was the one that was abused by his family from a young age he was always seen as the black sheep. In earlier years he got into trouble from the law which made it difficult for him to have any real relationship with his family.
It is our client’s evidence that his relationship with his father took a complete stand still and very little contact if any existed for the last 10 years prior to the passing of the deceased. Our client came in to see Garbis Kolokossion, Solicitor at GMP Contesting Wills Lawyers on 9 August 2012. On this occasion he explained to the above named that he had received a Notice of Claim from the Executors of this Estate. During this conference our client explained that his biological brother, a Plaintiff in his own right, had been lying to him and told him that our client had no right to make a claim on the Estate and more importantly there was no way that our client would be successful if he tried to make a claim.
During his initial conference with Garbis Kolokossian, our client was advised that he was eligible to make a claim and it was Garbis Kolokossian’s view that our client would not only be successful but will be in a position to receive a substantial amount out of the Estate. After taking instruction, Garbis Kolokossian learnt that the Estate was only $300,000.00 which is considered to be a tiny Estate in the eyes of the Courts. Regardless of the size of the Estate Garbis Kolokossian prepared the file immediately including the primary evidence that our client intended to rely on and filed a Summons and an Affidavit along with all other court documents within a month after taking instruction. The matter was litigated immediately and was referred to Mediation within 6 months. At Mediation strenuous arguments came through regarding our client’s estrangement from the deceased. Not only was GMP Contesting Wills Lawyers and our client able to convince the defendant that our client was eligible, we were able to convince them that our client deserved a substantial contribution for his future. Garbis Kolokossian fought extremely hard at the Mediation and ensured that a top result was received for our client. Our client walked away with just over one quarter of the size of the Estate which allowed him to take positive steps in his life and plan for his future.
Our client was extremely excited and overwhelmed by the assistance provided from GMP Contesting Wills Lawyers, a firm that took on his case when others would not. Our client turned to Garbis Kolokossian and said “Your firm was the first group of people that have ever believed in me, I am very touched and I thank you very much for your help”.
The professionalism of GMP Contesting Wills Lawyers, the dedication to minimize legal fees and their willingness to advance cases in a very quick fashion allows for fantastic results in circumstances where the Estate is too small to waste legal fees on lengthy litigation. A very excited client had a fantastic result within 7 months.
