Marisol didn’t think she was the “estate planning type.” She’s the keep-the-lights-on type. The two jobs, one kid, one parent who’s “fine” until they’re not type. Then her father collapsed on a Tuesday, right there in the living room off Manchester. One minute he’s arguing about the TV volume, the next minute she’s riding behind an ambulance, rehearsing prayers and promises she never wanted to make. In the waiting room, a nurse asks her a question that lands like a brick: “Do you have the … [Read more...] about Living Trust vs. Will in Los Angeles: The Choice That Decides Whether Your Family Meets a Judge
Estate Planning
Reverse Mortgage, No Trust: How Families Lose the Home They Worked a Lifetime For
On a cool December evening in Inglewood, the Lopez family gathered around the dining table with a stack of papers and a knot in their stomachs. For years, Grandma Rosa told her kids, “When I’m gone, this house will give you a little breathing room. Pay off a few bills. Help the grandkids get started.” She didn’t promise four years of tuition and a dorm room. She talked about something much more real: a cushion. A little help with credit cards. Maybe a semester or two at community college, some … [Read more...] about Reverse Mortgage, No Trust: How Families Lose the Home They Worked a Lifetime For
When the Bills Stop Making Sense: Early Alzheimer’s, Silent Financial Danger, and How to Protect the Home You Built
Evelyn Johnson sat at her kitchen table with three different notices spread out in front of her. “Past due.”“Account suspended.”“Final notice before collections.” Her daughter, Monique, watched her trace the words with her finger like they belonged to someone else. Evelyn worked thirty-five years at a hospital in Culver City, raised three kids, bought a modest home, and kept every bill paid on time. Now the water bill confused her. The bank app startled her. The numbers no longer lined … [Read more...] about When the Bills Stop Making Sense: Early Alzheimer’s, Silent Financial Danger, and How to Protect the Home You Built
Reverse Mortgage Day of Reckoning: One Missing Trust, One Lost Home
Denise stood in her mother’s living room and listened to the rain hit the roof. Christmas lights blinked in the window. A letter from the reverse mortgage company sat open on the table. “Balance due,” it said. “Contact us immediately.” Her mother had passed in October. The reverse mortgage they took out years earlier now demanded an answer. Denise believed she had time. Probate moved slowly. Grief moved even slower. The lender did not slow down at all. No one in the family ever set up a … [Read more...] about Reverse Mortgage Day of Reckoning: One Missing Trust, One Lost Home
When Holiday Moments Become Wake-Up Calls
Families in Inglewood, from La Brea to Prairie, see these kinds of moments during the holidays all the time—missed ingredients in a signature recipe, confusion with who’s bringing what dish, getting lost on the short drive from church to home, bills piling up on the counter because “I’ll get to them later.” Those small slips can act like flashing red lights. They don’t just raise medical questions; they raise urgent legal ones: Who pays the bills if Mom can’t? Who talks to the … [Read more...] about When Holiday Moments Become Wake-Up Calls
Alzheimer’s Early Signs & Estate Planning for Inglewood Families
On a quiet Sunday in Inglewood, Denise watched her father turn the wrong way out of their church parking lot. He had driven those streets near Century Boulevard for 40 years. That afternoon he could not remember which way led home. He joked about “senior moments.” Denise didn’t laugh. She saw the DWP bill sit unopened on the table. She heard the same story at dinner three times. She watched him call one grandchild by another’s name. Each moment felt small, but together they whispered a word … [Read more...] about Alzheimer’s Early Signs & Estate Planning for Inglewood Families
The paperwork no one sees’: Inglewood’s family caregivers carry a hidden legal load
On a tree-lined block just off Manchester Boulevard, 52-year-old Tanya gets up at 5 a.m. most days — not for herself, but for her mother. She lines up medications, checks blood sugar, helps with a slow, careful walk to the bathroom, then makes oatmeal before logging in to her remote job. In between Zoom calls, she’s scheduling doctor visits, fighting with insurance and answering the same questions her mom asks every afternoon as dementia chips away at old memories. “I knew I’d be helping … [Read more...] about The paperwork no one sees’: Inglewood’s family caregivers carry a hidden legal load
When the State Decides for You: What Really Happens If You Die Without a Will
November is National Family Caregivers Awareness Month — a time meant to honor the people who quietly hold entire families together. The daughters who manage pill boxes and power of attorney forms. The sons who rearrange their lives to drive their mothers to chemo. The nieces, grandsons, and neighbors who become full-time caregivers long before anyone calls them that. But behind that devotion hides a question that too few ever ask:What happens to the caregiver when the person they cared for is … [Read more...] about When the State Decides for You: What Really Happens If You Die Without a Will
Trusts, Taxes, and Cyber Safety—Featuring Tereina Stidd, the new Director of Education for the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys
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 … [Read more...] about Trusts, Taxes, and Cyber Safety—Featuring Tereina Stidd, the new Director of Education for the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys
Attorney Caprice L. Collins Named Official Ambassador of Alzheimer’s Los Angeles
Collins Law Group is proud to announce that Attorney Caprice L. Collins has been named an Official Ambassador of Alzheimer’s Los Angeles (ALZLA). For more than 40 years, Attorney Collins has stood as a protector and champion for families across Greater Los Angeles, especially Black families—helping them safeguard their homes, avoid the crushing costs and delays of probate, and preserve generational wealth. This ambassador role formalizes a mission she has pursued for decades: protecting … [Read more...] about Attorney Caprice L. Collins Named Official Ambassador of Alzheimer’s Los Angeles
