An estranged daughter devising a plan to murder her father with a crossbow was not enough to prevent her from successfully challenging his will and winning a share of his $12.4 million estate.

The Supreme Court of Victoria case highlights the difficulty of excluding a family member from a will as a near-$5 trillion intergenerational wealth transfer unfolds. Legal actions for a share – or bigger slice – of an estate is a big and growing business for lawyers who heavily advertise their services by encouraging litigants to test whether they got a “fair share” of an estate.