by Keith Baldwin, FamilyWillsYork
In April 2016, aged 53, I was diagnosed with bladder cancer and referred to Jimmy’s.
I was told the cancer would grow faster than radiation or chemo treatments could act, so I needed to have my bladder removed. Just 4 months later, I was the 5th person at Jimmy’s to have my bladder removed by robotic surgery.
A year after the successful surgery, I got a kidney infection which caused sepsis and pneumonia, and I would have died had it not been for the quick thinking and expertise of York Hospital staff, giving me 4 bags of plasma fast! Shortly after, I had one of my kidneys removed.
During this period, the one thing that concerned me was that we hadn’t made our Wills, and I didn’t know what sort of a mess I’d be leaving behind for my family to sort out.
As coincidences happen, when I was fit enough to start looking for something to do that would help people, I came across a company recruiting and training Estate Planners to help families to put their Wills, etc in place, by offering families home visits.
Now, 7 years on, I have an established small business (when I say small, it’s me!) providing home visits and advice on Wills, Trusts and Powers of Attorney to York families, working in conjunction with a UK group of solicitors and tax & trust specialists.
A friendly chat and a cup of coffee (not mandatory!) and you’re ‘in the know’.
Why families are contacting me: The majority of people who contact me say that they’ve worked hard all their lives for what they’ve got, and they want to avoid it going to the government or to pay for their care, so they can leave more for their family.
Enquiries come from people who have never got around to doing a Will; or they did one when the kids were young, but now they have their own families; or they’d like me to review their Will, which they did years ago.
They have usually heard that it’s possible to do something to protect what they’ve got, but not sure what – hence, they contact me, I pop round for a friendly chat to understand the family situation and outline the options they have. We then have another get-together to talk through my report, so that they fully understand the options and prices…and they can make an informed decision. You only pay when you want to go ahead!
Scenarios I come across: Usually, families just have a home and savings. Some couples have families from previous relationships. Some people have another property which they let. Some have a business or a farm. I also provide advice to families with disabled children (York Inspirational Kids) and people at different stages of cancer diagnosis and treatment (York Against Cancer).
If you’d like a friendly and helpful conversation, in your own home, just give me a call on 07791 142527 to arrange a convenient time.
Keith, FamilyWillsYork