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
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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 Family Wealth Protection Test
Estimated read time: ~5 minutes. By the time many families begin talking seriously about inheritance, the most important decisions have already been made. The house is titled a certain way. The trust is either funded or it is not. The retirement accounts name beneficiaries. The life insurance policy has instructions of its own. The power of attorney is current, outdated or missing. The adult children either understand the plan or are left to interpret it later, when grief has made every … [Read more...] about The Family Wealth Protection Test
What Dolly Parton Said in Her Last Interview Should Terrify Us
Estimated read time: ~5 minutes. Dolly Parton spent most of her public life making hard things look easy. She built a career, a business empire, a philanthropic legacy and one of the most recognizable voices in American music. She also built something quieter: a nearly 60-year marriage to Carl Dean, the private man who stayed mostly outside the spotlight while she belonged, in many ways, to everyone. That is why her recent comments about her health landed so deeply. Parton reportedly … [Read more...] about What Dolly Parton Said in Her Last Interview Should Terrify Us
Don’t Let the State Decide What Happens to Your Legacy
Harold did not think of himself as wealthy. Estimated read time: ~5 minutes. Harold did not think of himself as wealthy. That was the first thing his daughter always said. He had a house in Los Angeles. A pension. A retirement account. A small life insurance policy. A paid-off car. A checking account, a savings account, and a garage full of tools no one was allowed to borrow without signing them back in. He had worked for more than 40 years. He had raised … [Read more...] about Don’t Let the State Decide What Happens to Your Legacy
An Uplifting Sunday of Faith, Fellowship and Community
On Sunday, August 30, Attorney Collins and her husband, Al Jenkins, were grateful to spend a beautiful and uplifting morning with the congregation at Third Church of Religious Science in Leimert Park. The service featured a powerful and heartfelt message from Pastor Emeritus Rev. Ronnie Jones, whose words were both inspiring and energizing. In addition to his longtime leadership in the faith community, Rev. Jones is also a highly respected developer of commercial and residential properties, … [Read more...] about An Uplifting Sunday of Faith, Fellowship and Community
Before the Family Loses the House
The meeting did not begin with money. Estimated read time: ~5 minutes. The meeting did not begin with money. That was important. It began with a photograph. A black-and-white picture of Josephine Carter standing on the front steps of her Los Angeles home in 1974, one hand on the railing, the other holding the keys she had worked nearly 20 years to earn. Her granddaughter, Simone, found the photo in a shoebox after Sunday dinner. Everyone gathered around. There was … [Read more...] about Before the Family Loses the House
