Legal Ease

I've been in the same business for more than five years now.  In many ways, it's related to a career I held for ten years.  I was sure that I knew my business inside and out.  On my recent vacation, however, I realized I had had not a clue.

My family and I were in Branson, Missouri when I received I picked up an email from our realtor letting me know that a serious title issue had reared its ugly head.  The issue involved my mother (who passed on four years ago) and my sister in Texas, neither of whom, for their own reasons, was readily available to assist in the resolution.  In a moment, my dreams of sailing through an otherwise uncomplicated sale of my mother's house were dashed.  If we had to take my mother's estate through probate, as the situation seemed to imply, not only would we lose this sweet deal, but there wouldn't be any deal to be hand for months.  

We were sitting at an elegant restaurant on the banks of Lake Taneycomo, about to enjoy our last meal in 'civilization,' before heading out to a more remote area where (unbeknownst to me at the time) we would not have any cell phone reception at all.  We were truly getting away from it all, eagerly anticipating a canoe trip down an unspoiled, clear water river in the southern Missouri Ozarks.  
Then I read the email, and my hopes of being relieved of the obligations and responsibilities of leasing, maintaining, and paying the mortgage and tax bills for my mother's former home were dashed.  Not wanting to bring down the mood of my happily vacationing family, I excused myself and cried in the bathroom. 

When I could hide no longer, I walked outside into the sunshine and walked briskly.  And I made a decision.  I called my LegalShield law firm back home in California.  I gave my intake information to the call center, knowing that the real estate attorney who had advised me on the sale of mom's house thus far would call me back within eight business hours.  Being Friday afternoon (and our future connectivity uncertain), however, I had no idea whether that call would come that day or, more imporatntly, at a time and place when I could take the call.  In fact, I almost didn't call at all because it seemed so unlikely that we would be able to connect.  

I'm glad I made the call, anyway. As soon as I ended the call, I felt instantly transported back to my vacation.  I didn't know what the attorney might say nor what advice he might have.  It just felt good to put the load on somebody else's shoulders for awhile.  As the commercials say, there are some things money can buy, and there are some things that are price-less.  Getting my vacation back is one of them.  I went back to enjoy that lunch by the lake with my family ~ and the entire rest of our vacation.  

Before that day, I had thought I was in the business of connecting people with affordable legal services for everyday matters, from traumatic to trivial.  Indeed, I have used the LegalShield service for countless trivialities, from complaining about a home repair service to inquiring how to give notice of entry to a tenant.  After that day, a Friday afternoon, on vacation far from home, I realized that I am in the business of offering access to Peace of Mind.  I may not always get the answer I want to hear when I call my law firm, but I'm always glad I have someone to call.  Sometimes, the very worst thing is not what I fear might happen, but feeling like there's no one in the world that understands the depths and the potential ramifications of what I'm fearing.  

Because of the lack of connectivity and the turn of events, I never even spoke to the LegalSheild attorney until we returned home from our vacation.  The issue had resolved itself by then, anyway.  Maybe it was the prayers.  Maybe it was my mother's spirit helping me out from the other side.  Maybe it was simply that the sale was Meant to Be.  In any case, I am ever so glad that I didn't spend hours of precious vacation time anguishing over the way I handled an even more difficult situation years ago.  For that, I am grateful to have LegalShield to call to carry the load, to hear me out and to give me back my Peace of Mind.