2024 Spring Will Challenge
“There were so many best bits!”
My mission behind the Will Challenge is to bust some myths around this vital legal document which states who gets what when you die, and to empower people to feel more knowledgeable and confident about instructing a solicitor.
The Challenge is aimed at people who have their head in the sand about their Wills but know that it is something they desperately need to get sorted. Although I am no longer a practicing solicitor (although I was a Wills and Probate expert for many years), I am now a grief and life coach, so I don’t draft the legal paperwork. However, over four days I help to focus people’s mind by delivering live zoom training on why a Will is so important, what happens if you don’t have a Will, providing examples of common myths and mistakes and explaining how to find the right solicitor for you.
Each day of the Challenge a small task is set to help prompt people to get around their mind blocks and be clearer on what it is they are asking a solicitor to do for them. Plus on the fifth day I run a Q&A session for people to “pick my brains” and I give them what I call a “Will Power” Will Planner… a document setting out everything I wish clients had given me when I used to prepare Wills.
I’ve run the Challenge a few years in a row now, so I was fairly confident that it was going to be good… but getting way over 100 sign-ups for the latest Challenge was amazing!
Since it finished, I’ve been taking a look at all the feedback and I thought I’d share it with you… so you could see the transformation from the participants themselves!
The transformation…
The question about how participants felt about their Wills before the Challenge started fell into two themes…
Some had old wills that needed a refresh… Wills from ten or fifteen years ago were making people feel disorganised, anxious and worried about what would happen in the event of their deaths. Some of these Wills had been basic, done hastily, or had become out-of-date because circumstances had changed (such as death of a spouse)
Others had no Will at all… Wills were in the back of their mind… they knew nothing was in place and they needed to sort them but they kept putting them off. Seeing my advert gave them the push that they needed to get it sorted.
Due to people’s busy lives, not everyone managed to watch all the lives within the four days. However, when they were asked how they feel now the Challenge is over, participants said they have…
Completed the Will Planner
Had some vital conversations… some spoke to other halves as the Challenge progressed, others have broached the subject with parents and found out important things like where the parents’ Wills are kept
Found and made appointments with solicitors, either during or just after the Challenge… and most importantly they understand the benefit of seeking out an expert, they know how to find one and they are now “feeling very positive” that they are now “so much better informed on the topic and how to approach it”.
Realised that they need to see a solicitor/financial advisor to fully understand things like inheritance tax and how to mitigate it… as one participant said… “lots of positives which would never have happened without me being on the Challenge”.
Most importantly they are in a “much better place” and they “feel inspired to update Wills without further procrastination”!
The best bits!
When asked what were the best bits of the Challenge, there were a variety of responses…
Will planner… The “Will Power” Will Planner was the one thing that people appreciated the most… it is a concise document that helps participants to work through everything covered in the Challenge and which puts everything solicitors need into one place: the personal, financial and Will details. Plus people found it a real confidence-giver to know that, when they had completed that they had everything they needed for a conversation with a solicitor. It was a joy to see the growth in confidence as people realised how clear they had become about what they are asking of their lawyers.
Q&A session… The ability to ask me anything and to feel like no question was too basic or stupid.
Information provided… comments ranged from enjoying the “great refresher”, finding tips like doing a family tree and learning about possible pitfalls to saying that “The volume of information given was fantastic, totally wasn't expecting as much as you provided. Giving examples of situations/scenarios helped put things in context.”
The format… Feedback confirmed that the bitesize chunks which slowly built up the knowledge base over the first three days, as well as the recaps on what had been covered were very helpful to cement what they learnt, with good signposts to where to find a lawyer, and easily digestible content. Offering replays within the private Facebook group was considered valuable so people could catch up at times that suited them.
Me and my approach… I was bowled over by the number of people who praised my “positive, ‘can-do’, confident delivery”, my friendly empathy and my practical attitude. But, I was most touched by the person who said one of their favourite things was “the way you connect and deliver the content with your audience. You make a tough topic easy to engage with and handle everything with empathy, whilst helping people to understand it is their responsibility to not just leave it to those left behind”
Challenge take aways…
When asked what advice participants would give to someone considering doing the Will Challenge the overall response was quite simply Do It! But if you don’t believe me, here are some of their exact words:
“Everyone should attend the Will Challenge! Even if you have a will, you'll discover something you never thought you'd need to consider. Don't think you can just leave it to those left behind when you die - take on the responsibility and feel so much the better! Your family/ friends will thank you for it.”
“So much useful information - do it!”
“It’s a no brainer do it, it’s easy to follow instructions on what you need to take to your solicitor. Also having blended families can complicate things but this course takes away the mystery of wills.”
“Absolutely worth attending - you’ve nothing to lose and a huge amount of peace of mind (for you and your loved ones) to gain”
“It was such an informative course and as always the opportunity to ask questions and hear what other people had to say was educational. It was very enlightening and having Emma signpost us to various sites was extremely useful.”
“It's amazing and such a generous thing to offer people. Your energy and enthusiasm is very infectious! I really feel so upbeat having attended, and who'd ever think they'd say that doing a Will Challenge!”
“Really appreciate that you are coming from this as both a trained expert but also as a fellow widow who knows where the triggers might be and isn’t afraid to address those in the moment.”
“I have dealt with family Will/Probate/Power of Attorney and Court Deputy matters, so think I had a decent understanding before your challenge. You gave me lots more info that I didn't know I needed to know!”
“An enlightening course with such an enthusiastic leader who delivered it with great passion.”
“It's a great way to find some clarity in a step by step way without overwhelm.”
“DO IT NOW!”
If you wish you’d done the Will Challenge, or if you are interested in doing it another time… sign up now to the Will Challenge waiting list and I’ll let you know as soon as dates are set for it to be run again. In the meantime, Wills are one aspect of the Sadmin course… so go check it out and see if you’d rather try to get all your Sadmin (including your Will) sorted in 12 weeks!
Alternatively, if you know your Will and/or Sadmin need to be sorted sooner rather than later and you don’t want to wait for the next challenge or launch, then I’d love you to book a private 121 call with me. If you want to know how this would work, please book a free 20-minute Discovery Call or if you have any questions please contact me directly via email at: emma@rainbowhunting.co.uk.