Read time: ~4 minutes.
If your living trust is 10 years old, there’s a real chance it’s not protecting you the way you think it is.
Not because you “did it wrong.”
Because life changes. Laws change. Assets change. And most trusts don’t break with a loud crack — they break quietly.
They break like this:
- A beneficiary is outdated.
- A trustee moved, died, or became the wrong person.
- A home was purchased but never properly transferred into the trust.
- A bank account changed institutions and the beneficiary reset.
- A child got married, divorced, had kids, or spiraled.
- You got older and the incapacity plan is no longer optional.
A trust can be “signed”… and still fail at the exact moment it’s supposed to protect your family.
✅ Join February 11th – In-Person Seminar (Limited Seating 🚨)
If you want to know whether your trust is actually working — or just sitting in a drawer pretending — join our February 11th In-Person Wills, Living Trusts & Asset Protection Seminar. Seating is limited:
https://collinslawgroup.com/webinar/in-person-seminar-wills-living-trusts-asset-protection-february-2026/
The Biggest Lie People Believe: “We Have a Trust, So We’re Good.”
In Los Angeles, this is the most common sentence right before chaos:
“We have a trust.”
Okay. But…
Is it funded?
Is it updated?
Does it match your life today?
Does it protect you in incapacity — not just death?
Does it prevent your family from going to war?
Because a trust that’s old and untouched isn’t a plan.
It’s a memory of a plan.
Real LA Example #1: The House Wasn’t in the Trust
A family in L.A. believes they’re avoiding probate because they “have a trust.”
Then mom passes.
And the attorney asks a basic question:
“Is the house titled in the trust?”
Silence.
Because the house was refinanced years later.
Or a new house was bought after the trust was created.
Or a deed never got recorded.
Or the trust paperwork was done but the follow-through wasn’t.
So now, the biggest asset — the home — isn’t actually protected by the trust.
That’s how families end up in probate even though they had a trust.
Not because they failed.
Because nobody checked.
✅ Watch Our On Demand (Start Tonight 🚨)
If you want to understand how trusts really work — including the silent mistakes that break them — watch our On-Demand seminar now:
https://zoom.us/rec/play/ib4JGJqmAR0OAewic1paUCjG-6d6oNz1QgABI4djgKALnmzLLSmtaoEIM_zLpgb7JTARVNqBW2aNLVCc.wBaUBbCpUN2Eu-OR?autoplay=true&startTime=1691504775000
Real LA Example #2: The Wrong Trustee Is Now in Charge
Ten years is a long time.
People change. Relationships change.
That “perfect” trustee you named in 2015 might now be:
- out of state
- physically unwell
- emotionally unstable
- financially desperate
- estranged
- remarried into drama
- just… not the right person anymore
And here’s the part families don’t think about:
Your trustee isn’t just a “backup helper.”
Your trustee can become the person controlling:
- your bank accounts
- your home
- your care
- your decisions
- your access to money in incapacity
If you don’t trust your trustee with your life, your trust is not done.
It’s dangerous.
Real LA Example #3: The Trust Doesn’t Match Today’s Family
Ten years ago:
- you had one grandchild
Now you have three - you were married
Now you’re divorced - your child was stable
Now they’re in crisis - you owned one property
Now you have a rental - you “never thought” someone would need long-term care
Now it’s happening in your circle
An outdated trust can accidentally do things you never intended:
- disinherit a grandchild
- send money to the wrong spouse/ex-spouse
- give too much control to the wrong child
- treat kids “equally” when the reality needs “fairly”
- fail to protect a vulnerable beneficiary
The paperwork doesn’t know your new reality unless you update it.
✅ Join Our In-Person Seminar (Get the Checklist)
At our February 11th seminar, we break down the exact red flags that tell you your trust needs an update — and what to do about it. Limited seating:
https://collinslawgroup.com/webinar/in-person-seminar-wills-living-trusts-asset-protection-february-2026/
The Silent Threat Most People Ignore: Incapacity
People think estate planning is about death.
It’s not.
In L.A., the most common “estate planning emergency” is:
a stroke
a fall
an Alzheimer’s diagnosis
a sudden hospitalization
a long middle chapter where life continues but decision-making disappears
If your trust is old, your incapacity plan may be weak.
And if your incapacity plan is weak, your family may be forced into conservatorship court — expensive, stressful, public.
A modern trust plan isn’t just “where does my stuff go.”
It’s: who speaks for me when I can’t?
The Fix Isn’t Complicated — But It Must Be Intentional
A trust review isn’t about rewriting your whole life.
It’s about confirming:
- your trustees are correct
- your beneficiaries are correct
- your house and assets are properly aligned
- your powers of attorney match today
- your plan reflects today’s laws and today’s family reality
- your “peace of mind” is based on facts — not assumptions
✅ Watch On Demand (Watch With Your Spouse)
If you’ve been meaning to “get around to it,” watch the On-Demand seminar with your spouse tonight. It’s the fastest way to start the conversation:
https://zoom.us/rec/play/ib4JGJqmAR0OAewic1paUCjG-6d6oNz1QgABI4djgKALnmzLLSmtaoEIM_zLpgb7JTARVNqBW2aNLVCc.wBaUBbCpUN2Eu-OR?autoplay=true&startTime=1691504775000
Bottom Line
A trust doesn’t stay strong just because it’s signed.
It stays strong because it’s maintained.
If your trust is 10 years old, it may already be broken — and you won’t know until the worst day.
✅ In Person Seminar (Limited Seating 🚨)
If you want certainty, not assumptions, reserve your seat for February 11th now (limited seating):
https://collinslawgroup.com/webinar/in-person-seminar-wills-living-trusts-asset-protection-february-2026/
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