Pictured above with Tereina Stidd, The new Director of Education for the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys; Attorney Collins spent the Fall Summit in the main engine room of modern planning: where trust design, tax policy, and cybersecurity converge into the real-life decisions families make under pressure. The tone of the weekend was unmistakable: practical, surgical, and focused on what works when memories fade, markets swing, and inboxes get hacked. Field-tested playbooks ready for Monday morning.
From the trusts track, one message came through like a bell: design for the lives your documents will have to survive. That means naming trustees who can actually execute; staging distributions so support doesn’t become dependency, and writing in real speed where it matters—HIPAA releases that travel, digital-asset powers that actually open portals, letter-of-intent guidance that keeps siblings aligned. Good trust design protects from creditors and chaos; great design protects from confusion. Attorney Collins leans hard toward that second category, building plans that are less “estate museum” and more “family operating system.”
If you’ve been “meaning to get a plan,” this is your on-ramp. Attorney Collins will break down these takeaways in plain English at the Wills, Living Trusts & Asset Protection seminar on
Thursday, November 13—a fast, focused session built to turn intentions into action. Save your seat → https://collinslawgroup.com/webinar/in-person-seminar-wills-living-trusts-asset-protection-november-13-2025/
The tax education put numbers to generosity, especially around Form 709. Think down payments, college help, business seed gifts. The annual exclusion amounts are helpful—but the real craft is knowing when filing is simply housekeeping (not a tax bill), when gift-splitting with a spouse amplifies your impact, and how the marital rules change if your spouse isn’t a U.S. citizen. Attorney Collins treats those as small technical hinges that swing big family doors: first homes, smoother inheritances, and fewer audit-letter headaches. Want the moving parts decoded for your situation?
Join the November 13 seminar → https://collinslawgroup.com/webinar/in-person-seminar-wills-living-trusts-asset-protection-november-13-2025/
Tereina drilled the intersection of marriage law and the gift-tax framework with the clarity she’s known for: when a gift is reportable, when the marital deduction applies, and where the exceptions are hiding in the fine print. The big takeaway for families: timing and paperwork matter as much as amounts. A well-timed trust contribution or properly documented gift can turn a panic-later issue into a peace-now solution. Attorney Collins brings that discipline home, so families don’t learn the rules by mistake.
Cybersecurity, meanwhile, has also become part of every family’s estate plan whether they realize it or not. Law firms sit on a gold mine of data—birth certificates, deeds, account inventories—and attackers know it. The Summit’s cybersecurity track read like a checklist you should demand from anyone who holds your documents: multi-factor authentication everywhere; encryption in transit and at rest; offline/immutable backups; a tested incident-response plan; and staff trained to spot spear-phishing and “urgent wire change” scams. Attorney Collins treats those controls as table stakes, because a plan that isn’t protected can’t protect you.
If planning has felt cold or technical, consider what it gives back when life gets loud: a successor trustee who knows exactly what to do; beneficiary design that prevents arguments before they start; documents that open doors at banks and hospitals without a scavenger hunt. It’s not about predicting the future—it’s about arranging it so your people can move through it with less friction. Attorney Collins turns that into a process you can actually finish, with documents your family can actually follow. Ready to get clarity in under an hour?
Reserve your spot for November 13 → Limited Seats; Register Now — https://collinslawgroup.com/webinar/in-person-seminar-wills-living-trusts-asset-protection-november-13-2025/
The bigger story behind weekends like this is the network: national best practices pulled into local homes. With Tereina’s education leadership and a bench of Academy experts pushing updates across trust drafting, tax thresholds, and cybersecurity protocols, Attorney Collins brings the latest thinking back to Los Angeles and translates it into something families can use Tuesday at the kitchen table. Less worry. More control. And a plan that still works when the stakes rise.
If you love your people and you’ve built anything—a home, a business, a savings habit—you have an estate. It deserves a plan that keeps the peace, honors your wishes, and survives the curveballs. That’s the work. That’s why Attorney Collins shows up for weekends like this. And that’s why your next right step is simple: grab a seat for November 13 and leave with a path forward you can trust.
RSVP here → https://collinslawgroup.com/webinar/in-person-seminar-wills-living-trusts-asset-protection-november-13-2025/
- The Asset They Forgot - August 12, 2026
- Your Trust Can Be Perfect and Your Family Can Still Panic - June 10, 2026
- Father’s Day Wisdom: If You Can’t Speak, The System Speaks For You - June 8, 2026
