Howard H. Collens

About Howard H. Collens

Counselor and attorney at Galloway and Collens, PLLC, Howard H. Collens represents clients in Michigan and the Detroit metropolitan area in matters of estate planning and probate. His practice areas include long-term care and nursing home Medicaid planning, trust administration, probate and estate administration, nursing home patient advocacy, wills, trusts, powers of attorney, conservatorships and guardianships, elder law, and patient advocate designations and living wills.

In 1991, Mr. Collens graduated from the University of Michigan with honors with a Bachelor of Arts in English. He then attended the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law where he obtained a Juris Doctor in 1994. Admitted to practice in the state of Michigan and before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, he also completed the Institute of Continuing Legal Education Probate and Estate Planning Program.

A trusted counselor to his clients who uses understanding and compassion to work through the estate planning process, Mr. Collens is also a member of the State Bar of Michigan, he is on the organization?s Elder Law and Disability Rights Section?s legislative committee and he serves as a council member. He is a member of the Legislative Drafting and Development Committee of the State Bar of Michigan's Probate and Estate Planning Section.ÿ Mr. Collens is a member of the Wayne County Probate Bar Association, the Elder Law Advisory Board of the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, and he has served as chair for the Huntington Woods Senior Advisory Committee.

Mr. Collens was the ELDRS co-chair of the joint workgroup of the Probate and Estate Planning Section and Elder Law Disability Rights Section that focused on establishment or remote witnessing and expanded remote notarization by way of the Governor's Executive Orders and then through passed legislation.ÿ He was also instrumental in passing the Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act in Michigan.

To give back to his community, Mr. Collens volunteers and does pro bono work for several organizations. He is a board member of the Area Agency on Aging 1-B and a pro bono attorney for Lakeshore Legal Aid and a COVID-19 Rapid Response Helpline Volunteer for the State Bar of Michigan.