Page 27 of Choosing Skyler

“I will, Connie. Thank you,” I tell her before the hold music indicates the call being transferred.

Sable Simmons comes on the line and gets straight to business, as usual. “Brady, thank you for calling me back. I’m so sorry to bother you with this, but it is imperative that you know what’s happening with Jillian’s estate. Did you listen to my message, yesterday?”

“I did and as I understood it, Eric is contesting both my mom’s will and the life insurance. Is that right? Can he even do that?” I ask as my hands start to shake. Skyler grabs my hands in support and the move calms me slightly.

“Yes, that is correct. He filed a petition to acquire the estate. Per the inheritance law in the state of Virginia, he is the sole beneficiary of all properties as her legal spouse. Now, before you get upset let me tell you that I’m already preparing my motion to dismiss his claims to the estate. He has not been in her life the past nineteen years and her will clearly indicated her wishes for all properties to be transferred to you. It may not be an easy fight, but wewillfight, Brady. You have my word that I’ll do everything in my power to make her wishes come to fruition,” she says earnestly.

“I know you will, Ms. Simmons. My mom trusted you and I do too. I’m just terrified of him getting her house,my home,” I choke out through the lump in my throat.

“I’m not going to let him take your home without one hell of a fight, Brady. Of course, I can’t promise you that he won’t win, but Icanpromise that we’ll make it hell for him the whole way,” she reiterates.

“What do we do about the life insurance? I know you said that Virginia is not a community property state. I also know there won’t be much left after the hospital bills are settled. So, that’s not my main concern, but I’d like to have all the information,” I tell her.

“That is correct. He can file a motion for the life insurance, but it’s not his automatically since he was neither the listed beneficiary nor the owner of the policy. He won’t be able to get it. No judge would grant that since he wasn’t even in her life.

“However, you are wrong about there not being much left. Jillian and I filed every application for charitable contributions to her healthcare that we could find. Most of her medical treatments and hospital charges have already been settled without exhausting her primary policy. That leaves the balance of that policy and the entire second policy she purchased while working at IBM available to you,” she says, and I can hear the smile in her voice.

“What?! That is amazing news, but how? I don’t understand. What charitable contributions?” I ask, completely baffled.

“Brady, have you ever wondered what all those breast cancer charity galas actually do?” she asks, but doesn’t wait for my answer. “They raise money to help those affected by the disease. Whether that be a survivor needing extended medical treatment, the recently diagnosed needing care, or the surviving family of those that succumbed to their illness. That’s you, Brady. Several organizations provided funds to pay her expenses off so that the insurance is available to you as her sole survivor,” she explains.

“But according to Virginia law, I’mnother sole survivor. Eric is also included since they were never divorced. Does that give him a legal stand on the insurance money after all?” I ask, feeling my panic rise.

This can’t be happening. Now, he’s going to get her houseandthe insurance money. I jump from my seat and begin pacing. Skyler looks worried but stays quiet as she watches me fall apart.

“Calm down, Brady,” Ms. Simmons tells me. “The same law still applies to the life insurance. The charities paid their donations directly to the medical bills instead of to her estate. That was what I helped her set up when she applied for the contributions.

“I think she was afraid of Eric pulling this exact stunt. She expressed her wish for a divorce or to transfer her assets to you before her death. There just wasn’t enough time. I’m so sorry, Brady,” she says, sounding a little choked up.

“It’s not your fault, Ms. Simmons. I just don’t understand why she didn’t divorce him years ago. What possible reason could she have had to leave him in our lives on paper?” I growl out.

I’m venting. I know she can’t answer for my mom’s decisions years ago. She’s only been my mom’s attorney for the past four years. So, it surprises me when she does have an answer.

“Shedidfile for divorce shortly after purchasing her house. She knew there was no going back, and she didn’t want to have any further connection to him. He threatened to take her to court for custody, or at least partial custody of you since the court would automatically issue a child support stipulation in the divorce decree. She thought it was best to drop the divorce to keep him out of your lives physically. We did refile the paperwork last year, but she passed away before the hearing was set. Those two divorce filings could be what stops him from gaining access to her estate. She has always done what was needed to protect you, Brady. Please don’t ever doubt that,” she explains, and I don’t know what to say.

I had no idea about the first or second attempt my mom made to divorce Eric. It does answer the question though. My mom would rather stay married than run the risk of losing any time with me. I can’t be upset with her about that.

“I didn’t know about any of that. She never told me. Thank you so much for your time and all your help, Ms. Simmons. I need to send you my new address information for billing. I have a change of address at the post office, but I would rather you have the direct address for any legal correspondence,” I tell her.

“Absolutely, just email me your new contact information and I’ll update the file. I’ll stay in touch with any new information. I’m filing the response to the petition with the courts tomorrow. Please feel free to email or call me anytime with any questions you may have. I’ll talk with you again, soon,” she says.

“I will. Thank you, again. Have a great day, Ms. Simmons,” I tell her before ending the call and opening my email to send her my new address in Thorngrove.

Then, I drop my phone back onto the table and bury my face in my hands. I’m so lost. My mom did everything to protect me and our lives as she wanted us to live them. Now, Eric is going to try to take everything I have left of her away from me and I don’t know how to stop him.

Sable Simmons is a bulldog family and estate attorney. But there is only so much she can do. He’ll fight it. I know he will. Otherwise, he would never have filed the petition. That means at some point, I’m going to have to go back to Virginia Beach and face him.

My breaths pick up pace and my hands start to shake. My chest is tight, and I can’t stop crying. It’s like losing another piece of my mom. Skyler scoots her chair closer to mine, wraps her arm around me and lays her head on my shoulder.

“What do you need?” she asks me, her voice heavy with emotion.

I lift my head and turn to wrap her in my arms. “Just this, Beautiful. Just you,” I tell her through my tears.

She pushes back from the table to climb into my lap. She cups both of my cheeks, wiping at my ongoing tears.

“I’m here. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere. Breathe with me, Brady. I’ve got you. Just breathe with me,” she repeats softly.

I put my hand on her chest to feel her heartbeat, her steady breaths and I start to calm down a little. I take deep breaths and pull her tightly to me, feeling her against my chest and trying to match my breathing to hers.

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