Contrary to appearances, it's not over yet Gina Rinehart has never shied away from a legal dust-up but the battle with two of her children seems to be an exception to her rule. It prompted her to raise the white flag in court on Tuesday by offering to step down as trustee of the $5 billion family trust to avoid a trial set for next week. Her lawyer Bruce McClintock argued her decision to step down should mean "this litigation is essentially over." But in the House of Hancock, nothing is that simple. "A step in the right direction," John Hancock. Photo: Steve Pennells McClintock outlined a range of reasons for the decision, including the "untenable" risk of damage to the family group of companies and the impact on the family, which is "making one ill." The stakes are high and estranged children John Hancock and Bianca Rinehart want their day in court to address allegations of "deceitful conduct." It seems Rinehart can only avoid a trial if all parties can agree on who will be the new trustee and reach a financial settlement. They are two big hurdles, particularly given Rinehart wants the trustee to be a lineal descendent. It will depend on how much she wants it all to go away. For John Hancock, the news of his mother offering to step down was "a step in the right direction" but he said his next issue with this affair is "professional ethics." He was no doubt referring to some of the professional advice - and threats of bankruptcy - that had been given in relation to the family trust being allowed to vest on its due date in September 2011. Emails from one of Rinehart's closest lieutenants in the Hancock Prospecting empire, Jay Newby, warned John Hancock he would be hunted down like Christopher Skase unless he ceded control of the family's multibillion-dollar trust to his mother. Newby sent explosive emails a day after Rinehart warned her four children they would be bankrupted if the trust was allowed to vest. Hancock later received a private binding ruling from the Tax Office that said no capital gains tax was payable by the beneficiaries on vesting of the trust. In other emails released to the court it emerged Newby told PricewaterhouseCoopers to prepare two versions of its advice on the trust vesting and send a "sanitised" version to the children. Rinehart may have discharged herself as trustee, and hope the litigation with her children is done, but there will be a lot more twists and turns before the battle reaches its conclusion. McClintock's words that "she's departed the scene so to speak" might be a tad premature.