Children of divorce complain years later that they never had a voice or were heard by their parents or the legal system. This is food for thought as children are passively dealt with in a divorce proceeding like another piece of inanimate property. Estate taxes are not the only reason to do estate planning with a qualified professional. Just because there is a graduated inheritance tax break that is scheduled to vanish in 2011 does not mean that you know exactly when the fateful moment will hit in relation to what law is in effect, or that you can't plan to avoid probate expenses and publication of your affairs by careful estate planning techniques. Many problems can be mitigated and perhaps avoided by taking the time to properly counsel with an attorney.
Litigation is often the result of lack of foresight or planning ahead.
However, some legal battles are brought on by personalities and psychopathologies that no amount of legal advice can solve or prevent.