"You Should Not Have to Already Know the System": Leigha Hollis on Building Legacy House While Caregiving
When Leigha Hollis's mother needed care, she didn't know what a geriatric care manager was. She didn't know she could hire someone to help navigate Medicare. She didn't know estate planning attorneys specialized in families like hers. She found out the hard way - through phone calls, dead ends, and trial and error.
That experience became Legacy House, a vetted directory of professionals for families navigating some of life's hardest moments: elder care, estate planning, hospice, senior housing, grief support, and more. It launches June 15 - on what would have been her grandmother's 100th birthday.
What makes Legacy House different is what the word "vetted" actually means. Every professional is manually license-verified before their profile goes live - through FINRA BrokerCheck, state bar associations, or state licensing portals depending on the discipline. No paid listings. No unverified reviews. Every person in the directory earned their spot.
Leigha has been building all of this while caregiving for five years. In this conversation, she talks about what it means to build from inside the problem, the hardest part of doing both at once, and the one thing she wishes someone had told her from the very beginning.
Are you a woman leader with a story to tell? We'd love to feature you. Get in touch at hi@foundedbywomen.org
Q: Legacy House launches June 15 - what does "vetted" mean in practice? How do you ensure the professionals in your directory are genuinely trustworthy for families in vulnerable moments?
Every professional who applies to Legacy House goes through a verification process before their profile goes live. Each applicant submits their license type, license number, and licensing state. Before approving any profile, we manually verify the license through the relevant licensing authority: FINRA BrokerCheck for financial professionals, state bar associations for attorneys, and state licensing portals for care managers, social workers, and other practitioners. We confirm the license is active and in good standing with no disciplinary actions, suspensions, or complaints on record. For our higher tiers, we also conduct a founder interview and professional reference check.
What this means for families is that when they find a professional on Legacy House, they are not scrolling through unverified listings or reading paid reviews. Every person in the directory earned their spot. That is not something any other platform in this space can say.
Q: You've been a caregiver for five years while building this company. How has that dual role shaped the product - and what's been the hardest part of building while caregiving?
Everything about Legacy House stems from caregiving. The ten categories we serve—elder care, estate planning, financial planning, life insurance, retirement planning, caregiver support, hospice and grief, funeral and memorial, senior housing, and special needs planning—are not a business decision. They point to every phone call I made, every professional I scrambled to find, and every moment I realized I did not know where to turn.
The hardest part has been building something that requires relentless energy at the exact moment when caregiving takes everything you have. There are days when my mother needs me and Legacy House needs me simultaneously and neither can wait. I have learned that building from within the problem makes the platform more honest. But it also means there is no separation between the Legacy House mission and my life. Legacy House is not what I do. It is what I live.
Q: What's the one thing you wish someone had told you at the very beginning of your caregiving journey - before you knew what you didn't know?
Asking for help is not a sign of failure. It is actually the whole point. I spent years trying to figure everything out myself. My response to challenges and obstacles was always, "I'll figure it out." I thought that was what strength looked like. It seemingly worked in the past when I was only responsible for myself. But caregiving is a totally different ball game. I did not know what a geriatric care manager was. I did not know I could get a professional to help me navigate Medicare. I did not know there were estate planning attorneys who specialized in families like mine.
Nobody told me these people existed or how to find them. It took trial and error, and letting go of trying to figure it out alone, before I could share what I've learned with my friends, family, and anyone else who will listen. Legacy House is trying to fill that gap. You should not have to already know the system or start at a disadvantage to navigate it. Especially when making major life decisions.
I'm beyond grateful for everyone who has pointed me in the right direction, answered questions on the fly, checked in on me and my mom, and who continues to lend a listening ear. For families and individuals seeking support during the aging process and legacy planning journey, Legacy House is a member of your village.
Are you a woman leader with a story to tell? We'd love to feature you. Get in touch at hi@foundedbywomen.org
