Jane's Story
I know I go on and on.
And then I go on some more.
There’s a reason.
When I was a nine year old little girl, my Mum died.
She had married a year before she died, and as many of you who have read my articles know, marriage cancels any Will you might have had (unless special wording is included).
What this meant, is that Mum’s new husband got the lot, under the law. And he took it. All of it. Even though in theory, I fell into the category of a dependent person, being Mum’s nine year old daughter.
In June 2017, I came face to face with that man. The one who took everything. It was a very unexpected meeting, and I realised how deeply shocking I had found it, when, following that encounter, I sobbed and sobbed, and sobbed some more.
You probably know already, that I was not sobbing for the money. I sobbed for the pain caused, the Court case which went on longer than it should have, where the lawyers were the biggest winners, and I sobbed for the unnecessary situation of a mother, a loving, super-fun mother, my Mum, not being well enough informed, to give her three children a penny of her estate.
In July 2017, while I was processing that chance encounter, reading books about forgiveness and pondering my clear as well as vague memories of my childhood, I came upon the BEST Business Women Awards founded by Debbie Gilbert.
I thought about entering the awards, and telling “my story” and then dismissed the idea. I then decided, on the basis that Debbie said in a video that the application itself is a useful exercise to most business owners, to draft an application that would probably not leave my computer. Then, one Saturday afternoon, just before the deadline, I clicked submit.
In that moment, I knew that there is value in sharing my experience. My Mum is why I go on about Wills. She planted the seed of JC Independent Wills & Probate Ltd. My Dad and his fight on my behalf, is why I conduct my legal practice the way I do.
Yes, my Dad views most lawyers as daylight robbers, and there was a part of me that was somewhat anxious back in 2001, when I was about to qualify as a Solicitor, about how this might affect my relationship with my Dad.
My Dad’s taught me so many lessons, one of which is that resourcefulness is far more important than resources. He also highly values kindness. And I’m not going to even start telling you about his commitment to action rather than planning to do things one day.
If you’ve been planning to deal with your Will one day someday, and you think you might be reading this article for a reason, please take action. You’re probably already aware that I don’t want to deal with everyone’s Will in England, but I do want to know that you’ve taken action with a specialist adviser, who will take care of things in the way they’d want their family taken care of. If you’d like to run things by me, please feel free. It’s what I’m here for.
My office line is 01727 840 240 and my email is jane@jcwillsandprobate.co.uk and I will help you as much as I can. It’s part of my Mum’s legacy, so I take helping others, very seriously indeed.
The nine year old girl who got nothing, now gets to help people every day. And that means she actually got everything.