Tanya Williams didn’t think of herself as “single.”
She thought of herself as busy.
A condo near Inglewood. A job with deadlines. A calendar that never stopped. A family group chat that was always one message away from somebody needing something. She had friends who were closer than cousins. A church auntie who knew her better than anyone. A niece she adored like her own daughter.
She also had a quiet fear she never said out loud:
If something happened to me, my life would get handed to a system that doesn’t know me.
Not because the system is evil.
Because the system is default.
And if you’re a single woman in California, defaults are not designed for your real life.
They’re designed for a fantasy: spouse, joint assets, automatic caregiver, automatic decision-maker, automatic inheritance pathway.
But a large share of women aren’t living that script. Pew reports women are more likely than men to be unpartnered, and in 2025 it puts unpartnered women at 44%.
Tanya didn’t need a romantic partner to be whole.
But she did need a plan—because being single means you don’t get a built-in safety net when life hits.
And life hits.
Women also tend to live longer than men; CDC data for 2024 shows females have higher life expectancy at birth than males, with a gap of about 4.9 years.
That’s not just a statistic. That’s more years of:
- retirement to fund
- potential cognitive decline to plan for
- higher odds you’ll need help
- more time where “who’s in charge?” matters
For Tanya, it became real on a Tuesday night when her friend Maribel called.
“Can you come sit with me at urgent care?” Maribel asked. “They’re asking who my emergency contact is and I realized… I don’t even know.”
Tanya went. She sat in the plastic chair. She watched Maribel stare at forms like they were written in another language.
And she thought: If this were me, who would be allowed to speak? Who would be allowed to sign? Who would be allowed to access anything?
Because here’s the cold truth single women learn late:
Love doesn’t equal authority.
Friendship doesn’t equal access.
Chosen family doesn’t automatically inherit anything.
🚨 June 10 Seminar (VERY LIMITED SEATING)
If you’re a single woman (or you love one) and you want a plan built for real life—not marital assumptions—join the June 10th In-Person Wills, Living Trusts & Asset Protection Seminar. 🚨 VERY LIMITED SEATING:
https://collinslawgroup.com/webinar/in-person-seminar-wills-living-trusts-asset-protection-june-2026/
What happens without a plan in California is usually not what you’d choose
California’s intestate rules (dying without a will) generally send assets down a bloodline formula: children, then parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives.
So the friend who was your family? Nothing.
The partner you lived with but didn’t marry? Nothing.
The church auntie who showed up for everything? Nothing.
And then there’s the administrative reality: probate thresholds and streamlined options have changed recently. California courts note a 2025 law raised a “petition to determine succession” path for a primary residence under $750,000 (in certain situations), and the small-estate limits vary by asset type and date of death.
But here’s the Los Angeles reality: a lot of homes don’t fit neatly into “simple,” and delays are still delays when bills keep coming.
A funded trust can keep your plan out of court and give your successor trustee authority faster—especially important when you don’t have a spouse who automatically steps in.
The single-woman question isn’t “Who gets my stuff?”
It’s “Who is my person?”
Married couples often default their spouse into everything:
- executor / trustee
- healthcare agent
- financial agent
- primary beneficiary
Single women have to choose those roles. And that’s where Tanya realized the truth:
Her plan couldn’t be built on assumptions.
It had to be built on names.
And not just “names”—the right names.
The person you trust emotionally might not be the person you trust with finances. The person you trust with medical decisions might crumble under family pressure. The person who loves you might also be disorganized and overwhelmed.
So Tanya made a different move: she separated roles.
- One person for healthcare
- One person for finances
- A backup for each
- And clear instructions so nobody had to guess
✅ On Demand (if you can’t attend June 10)
If you can’t make it in person, start privately and get clarity first. Watch the seminar On Demand here:
https://zoom.us/rec/play/ib4JGJqmAR0OAewic1paUCjG-6d6oNz1QgABI4djgKALnmzLLSmtaoEIM_zLpgb7JTARVNqBW2aNLVCc.wBaUBbCpUN2Eu-OR?autoplay=true&startTime=1691504775000
The hidden landmine: beneficiary forms don’t care what your trust says
Single women are especially vulnerable here—especially after a breakup, divorce, or a long relationship ends.
Because retirement accounts, life insurance, and payable-on-death accounts pass by beneficiary designation, not by “what you meant.”
That’s how an ex can receive money you never intended.
That’s how a trust can say “split evenly,” while one account quietly goes to someone else.
Tanya’s fix wasn’t complicated. It was disciplined:
- review beneficiaries
- align them with the plan
- update after every major life change
- don’t assume “my will covers it” (it may not)
🚨 June 10 Seminar (VERY LIMITED SEATING)
If you want the checklist that prevents “my ex got the 401(k)” and “my trust says one thing but my accounts say another,” join us June 10. 🚨 VERY LIMITED SEATING:
https://collinslawgroup.com/webinar/in-person-seminar-wills-living-trusts-asset-protection-june-2026/
Long-term care: single women pay the price of longevity
The longer life expectancy gap has real consequences. More years can mean higher odds of needing support—and single women often don’t have a built-in caregiver.
Genworth and CareScout’s 2024 survey results show long-term care costs continue rising, including in California.
That matters because “I’ll just handle it later” becomes:
- “I need help now.”
- “Who has authority?”
- “Who can pay bills?”
- “Who can talk to doctors?”
- “Do we need court?”
Without powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and clear successor decision-makers, families often get pushed toward court-supervised solutions—slow, expensive, and emotionally brutal.
✅ On Demand (share with your chosen family)
If your chosen family needs to be part of the plan, don’t rely on vague conversations. Watch together using the On Demand access page:
https://zoom.us/rec/component-page?eagerLoadZvaPages=sidemenu.billing.plan_management&accessLevel=&hasValidToken=false&clusterId=us02&action=play&filePlayId=Rs1bWtfp2kDuAm7dj6KI9lCV4PGVvPSINsjh0T3pR61oBd8nGCvqUG32UPYxS-Fv62eXQYQEbyHeQVm0.7nSjhK5rBjJJcLSe&componentName=recording-register&meetingId=7Bf3hbiE5TE9coo0DNt28cLE4WUvwRhgxwsJCxgefo1_kWZ1wso8J90snz3pwvo_.mnOcXkamQqkf083x&originRequestUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fzoom.us%2Frec%2Fplay%2Fib4JGJqmAR0OAewic1paUCjG-6d6oNz1QgABI4djgKALnmzLLSmtaoEIM_zLpgb7JTARVNqBW2aNLVCc.wBaUBbCpUN2Eu-OR%3Fautoplay%3Dtrue%26startTime%3D1691504775000
The moment Tanya knew she’d done the right thing
A year later, her mom had a health scare.
Tanya didn’t collapse into panic. She opened the folder. She called the right people. She had authority lined up. She didn’t have to beg a system to treat her like family.
And that’s the point:
For single women, estate planning isn’t about fear.
It’s about refusing to let the state’s defaults decide who matters in your life.
🚨 Final June 10 Seminar Nudge (VERY LIMITED SEATING)
If you’re a single woman in Los Angeles and you want your plan to reflect your real life—your people, your values, your chosen family—reserve your seat for June 10 now. 🚨 VERY LIMITED SEATING:
https://collinslawgroup.com/webinar/in-person-seminar-wills-living-trusts-asset-protection-june-2026/
- 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
