I can finally close this case. Last January, I was hired to reach out to a client's birth mother. Her birth mother was identified through AncestryDNA before we were hired. The birth mother lives in the Los Angeles area and is now in her early 80’s. A few years ago, my client had a friend reach out to her birth mother and even met with her in person. The birth mother told the friend that she never had children, nor placed one for adoption. She wished my client the best of luck.
This was a tough assignment for me since I found out who the birth father was. Her birth father recently passed away. He was an entertainment attorney who was credited for giving The Rolling Stones their biggest record deal at the time. He was also the center of a huge sexual harassment scandal in the entertainment industry back in the 1980’s. His family never reached back to me regarding family medical history.
Now, regarding the birth mother, I did not have a good phone number for her and did not want to just show up at her door. I contacted one of her neighbors, who was a good friend of hers. I carefully explained who I was, and he said he would talk to her. The neighbor got back to me and said she has nothing to talk about and that I should let this go. Well, for those of you who know me, I couldn't let this go because my client is a mother and a grandmother and desperately needed her birth family’s medical history.
So here we go… last week, my wife and I went to a family function about 6 miles from where the birth mother lives. I decided to swing by her apartment afterwards to see if she was there, and if she would talk.
This was a secured apartment building with no kiosk and no way to message any of the tenants from the front gate. I waited a few minutes (with my wife in the car, working on her phone). Suddenly, I see the shadow of someone walking in the apartment courtyard. I said out loud that I was there for xxxxxx (the birth mother’s name) and she said, “That’s me!” She came to the gate and knew immediately who I was. She said “I know you’re Jay and I’ve seen you on KTLA.”
Right there, my heart dropped, and I knew she was going to speak with me candidly. She admitted she was my client’s birth mother and said she never told anyone about this. She had no family and has lived alone for over 50 years. She didn’t even recall the name of the birth father nor recognize his photo. I quickly moved on from that. I told her all my client wanted to know was her family medical history. The birth mother gave me full medical history, including both of her parents. The birth mother was not interested in speaking with my client and said, “I wish her well.” She provided me with her email address and even let me take a photo of her to show my client.
I thanked the birth mother, and she seemed okay with all of this. I walked back to my car and my wife asked me “Who was that woman you were taking to?” I told her it was was birth mother. She said “Timing is everything.” Absolutely right!!
I sent my client the photo and called her. I told her everything, and she now has peace of mind. She texted me back, “Jay, you are absolutely the best!”
Well, I certainly try my hardest for my clients. With this case, after decades of wanting the truth, my client finally has the last piece of the puzzle, and she now has the full picture. I did my job!!l