Page 26 - Inspire

“Making a Will is one of those things you tend to Prevention is better than cure. It’s an old saying,
put off. Things are always changing. Family changes.
It gets bigger or smaller, sadly. So, you wait. You wait
until everything has settled down - let me know
when that happens!
My husband Dave and I had made a Will years ago
but since then we’ve welcomed more grandchildren,
and even a great granddaughter into our lives, so it
was definitely out of date.
We met with Jane in one of the charity’s shops –
it’s actually the shop where my daughter Suzi works
– and she told us about the free Wills scheme.
Dean from McClure Solicitors came out to see us,
back when we were allowed people in the house!
He was a lovely man, very informative and we were
both really impressed and felt very relieved after it
was all sorted. It’s like that part of your life is boxed
off, one less thing to worry about.
During the meeting, we were asked if we’d like to
make a donation or leave a legacy to charity. There
was absolutely no pressure to do this and at no
point did we feel uncomfortable.
Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation is a special
charity to us. Although it is a national charity, it also
feels very local. We often pop into one of their
shops and pick up a few hidden treasures! When
you support them, you feel like you’re doing good
for your community, like your donation is going to
someone you know. After all, lung cancer is a disease
that affects so many people.
My grandad had it. He used to work in the
shipyards, with asbestos. Thankfully, we now know
so much more about the risks and there are more
treatments, more ways of catching it earlier, than
there were when he had it, which is all down to the
research that charities like Roy Castle fund.
but it still stands. Roy Castle has done so much to
help so many reduce their risk. I used to smoke
quite heavily when I was younger but quit in 1983
when I met Dave.
He couldn’t stand smoking, so I stubbed out my
last cigarette and never smoked again. I appreciate
it’s often not that easy, so the support from the
charity must have been invaluable, and probably
even lifesaving, to so many.
We’ve actually used the free Wills service in
lockdown, when our circumstances changed once
again. This time we spoke to Wayne, equally as lovely
and informative, on the telephone. He gave us some
excellent advice about Trusts that I’m not sure we
would have got otherwise.
We got the papers through the post and then had a
video call with Wayne and another solicitor to
witness us signing them. It all went very
smoothly and we’re once again left with that
reassurance during a time of so much uncertainty
and anxiety.
After all, if the past year has told us anything, it’s that
we don’t know what’s around the corner!
Some things will always be out of our control, but
there are others that we can have some say in.
That’s why you mustn’t wait.”