Theme: Caregiving and Cognitive DeclineEstimated read time: ~5 minutes At first, the changes may seem small. A forgotten appointment. A repeated question. A bill paid twice. A misplaced checkbook. A familiar route that suddenly feels confusing. A parent who used to manage everything now needing help with one small task, then another. Families often explain these moments away. Stress. Age. Fatigue. A bad day. And sometimes that is all it is. But when memory begins to … [Read more...] about When Memory Starts to Change, the Legal Clock Starts Ticking
trust administration
The Family Meeting That Should Happen Before the Funeral
Theme: Family Estate Wealth PlanningEstimated read time: ~5 minutes Some families do not fight because there is no plan. They fight because no one understood the plan. A parent may have signed the documents. The trust may exist. The will may be in a folder. The accounts may be organized. But the children may still be left with questions no document fully answers. Why was one child named trustee? Why is the house being handled this way? Why did that account pass outside the … [Read more...] about The Family Meeting That Should Happen Before the Funeral
The Money Arrived. The Protection Did Not.
Theme: Family Estate Wealth PlanningEstimated read time: ~5 minutes Most families think the danger is not leaving enough. But sometimes the danger is leaving assets with no protection around them. A parent may spend a lifetime building something modest but meaningful: a home, retirement savings, life insurance, investment accounts, maybe a small business or rental property. The plan may seem simple. Leave it to the children. Help the grandchildren. Make things fair. But wealth can be … [Read more...] about The Money Arrived. The Protection Did Not.
The House Was Never Just a House
Estimated read time: ~5 minutes The family house rarely begins as an estate-planning issue. It begins as a dream. A first set of keys. A mortgage payment stretched across decades. A backyard where children learned to ride bikes. A kitchen table where bills were paid, homework was finished, birthdays were planned, and difficult news was delivered. For many families, especially Black families in Los Angeles, the house is more than property. It is proof. Proof of work. Proof of discipline. … [Read more...] about The House Was Never Just a House
Before the Children Have to Figure It Out
Estimated read time: ~5 minutes. The first questions usually sound simple. Where is the will? Is there a trust? Who has the keys? Who pays the bills? What happens to the house? Then the simple questions become painful. Why was she named trustee? Why did he get authority over the property? Why did that account go to someone else? Did Mom really want the house sold? Did Dad already help one child more than the others? Why did no one tell us? By then, the person who could have … [Read more...] about Before the Children Have to Figure It Out
The Money The Family Thought They’d Keep
Estimated read time: ~5 minutes. The number on the statement looked larger than anyone expected. That was the first surprise. After their mother, Evelyn, died, her three children sat around the dining room table in the Inglewood home where they had grown up. Denise had brought a folder. Marcus had brought coffee. Patrice had brought nothing because she said she could not think clearly yet. Their mother had left a house, an investment account, a retirement account, and the small … [Read more...] about The Money The Family Thought They’d Keep
Our First Evening Seminar in 6 Years—Created Specifically for You: Caregivers, Working Professionals and Busy Families
For six years, Collins Law Group has primarily welcomed families into its educational seminars during the daytime. But over time, one message kept coming through clearly: “I want to attend. I just can’t make the morning time work.” Sometimes it came from a daughter caring for an aging parent. Sometimes it came from a professional whose calendar was booked from the moment the workday began. Sometimes it came from a parent trying to coordinate children, appointments, transportation … [Read more...] about Our First Evening Seminar in 6 Years—Created Specifically for You: Caregivers, Working Professionals and Busy Families
Newly Single? Why Your Inheritance Plan Needs a Reset
This will take you 6 minutes to read—and could save your legacy from the wrong hands. Life changes—especially divorce or the loss of a spouse—demand more than emotional healing. They demand action. Your estate plan, once a picture of your past life, must now be a blueprint for your future. If you’re newly single, your estate plan might be dangerously outdated. That means your money, your decisions, and your family’s future could end up in the wrong hands. This guide walks you through how … [Read more...] about Newly Single? Why Your Inheritance Plan Needs a Reset
This April, Let’s Get Real About Legacy: Why National Minority Health Month Should Also Be About Wealth and Estate Planning
April is National Minority Health Month, a time dedicated to raising awareness about health disparities impacting communities of color. But here’s the uncomfortable truth most folks aren’t talking about: the conversation about health is incomplete without talking about wealth. And more specifically—how we protect it. Health doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Your zip code matters. So does your net worth. The legacy you leave behind? That’s a health issue too. Because for Black and Hispanic families, … [Read more...] about This April, Let’s Get Real About Legacy: Why National Minority Health Month Should Also Be About Wealth and Estate Planning
Protecting Your Legacy Amidst the LA Wildfires
In the aftermath of the recent wildfires that have scarred Los Angeles County, the pain is palpable. Homes in Alta Dena reduced to rubble. Families in the Palisades forced to flee, their lives packed hastily into the backseat of a car. Even at Collins Law Group, one of Los Angeles’ trusted estate planning firms, the heartbreak hits home. Among the embers of destruction lies the story of one of their own attorneys, who lost not one, but two homes in the blaze. But in Los Angeles, resilience is … [Read more...] about Protecting Your Legacy Amidst the LA Wildfires
