Legacy Lawyers

Voyant Legal, Mike Haslam, Nathan Croxford

We talk about the juicy details of cases that our law firm has dealt with. (Of course changing the names and details to protect attorney client privilege) Without using lawyer talk and legalese, we dive into what options our clients were faced with to fix their situation.

  1. 5d ago

    Planning for Dementia in Utah: What to Do Before You Can't Decide for Yourself [Ep. 141]

    An estimated 7.4 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's or dementia, about 1 in 9. Chances are good you know someone, and chances are also good their family didn't plan for how fast it can move. In this episode, Nathan Croxford and Taylor Stone explain what to put in place before a loved one loses the capacity to sign anything. They cover the two documents that matter most, why a name on a parent's bank account isn't a plan, how to choose between a springing and an immediate power of attorney, and why those documents still matter even if a court-supervised guardianship or conservatorship ends up being needed. Key Takeaways: The Closing Window: Cognitive decline can move from a little forgetfulness to a loss of capacity faster than most families expect. Once someone can't sign, the power of attorney is off the table and a court proceeding is the only path left.The Bank Account Shortcut: Adding your name to a parent's account may solve some problems, but it won't handle things like a retirement plan election, and a co-owner's own financial trouble can put a parent's money at risk.Springing vs. Immediate: A springing power of attorney requires proof of incapacity, usually a physician's letter. An immediate one lets your agent help on good days and bad days. Which fits depends on the family's situation.The Seatbelt and the Airbag: Even when documents don't prevent a later guardianship, the person you named gets top priority under the appointment statute, which can keep the process streamlined and out of family disputes.Nathan Croxford and Taylor Stone are practicing attorneys at Voyant Legal in Utah. This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Visit voyantlegal.com or call 801.951.0500.

  2. Sep 18

    Estate Planning in Utah: How to Spot an Expert [Ep. 140]

    Not all estate plans are created equal, and most people have no way to tell the difference until it's too late. In this roundtable episode, Michael Haslam, Taylor Stone, Brian Edwards, and Cody Millward get candid about what separates real expertise from checkbox planning. They walk through what they actually see when a client brings in a plan built somewhere else (trusts that were never funded, revocable living trusts drafted with no Medicaid protection despite claiming otherwise, documents with blank fields nobody caught), the exact questions that reveal whether an attorney knows their craft, and what genuine experience looks like from the inside. Key Takeaways: The Funding Gap: A trust is only as good as what's actually inside it. One attorney describes a family who paid for a complete trust, but the house deed was never transferred, meaning the asset protection clock never started.What Expertise Actually Costs: A real estate plan takes real time. A quote far below what other firms charge is a sign of shortcuts happening behind the scenes, and the family pays for it later.The Questions That Reveal an Expert: How will you help me fund my trust? What happens if my trustee and beneficiaries disagree? What did you consider and rule out for my plan, and why?The Special Needs Blind Spot: Most trusts the attorneys review never address what happens if a child later qualifies for state benefits, a gap that can force a family to spend down assets before that child can requalify. Michael Haslam, Taylor Stone, Brian Edwards, and Cody Millward are practicing attorneys at Voyant Legal in Utah. This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Visit voyantlegal.com or call 801.951.0500.

  3. Sep 4

    The AI Estate Planning Question Your Clients Are Already Asking [Ep. 139]

    In one year, the share of Americans who trust AI more than an attorney for estate planning jumped from 20% to 30%, the biggest single-year shift Trust & Will has measured in six years of surveying. Among Gen Z, that number is 46%. In this episode, Michael Haslam and Brian Edwards break down what that shift actually looks like in their own practice: clients showing up more educated after researching with AI, clients arriving with long AI-generated lists of "suggestions" that take real time to sort through, and the rare but real case of someone trying to treat a fully AI-drafted document as finished. They lay out where AI genuinely helps, where it creates more work than it saves, and the one question that changes everything: have you asked your attorney if they've run your plan through AI themselves. Key Takeaways: The Trust Shift: AI trust for estate planning jumped from 20% to 30% in a single year. But only 5% of people say they'd use AI to create documents with zero attorney review.The "AI Slop" Problem: A long list of AI-generated suggestions often runs 80% irrelevant, and sorting the real recommendations from the noise costs real attorney time and client money.Ask Your Attorney First: A firm's AI is trained specifically on the law and prompted by someone who already knows what matters. That combination beats a client's own AI search almost every time.The Hard Line: Using AI to organize your thinking or draft a rough starting point is fine. Treating an AI-drafted document as finished, with no attorney ever reviewing it, is the one use that genuinely worries them. Michael Haslam and Brian Edwards are practicing attorneys at Voyant Legal in Utah. This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Visit voyantlegal.com or call 801.951.0500.

  4. Aug 21

    Trump Accounts: What Utah Families Need to Know About the New Children's Savings Vehicle [Ep. 138]

    A brand new federal savings account for kids just opened, with a free $1,000 attached for a lot of families. Most parents have heard the headline and none of the fine print. In this episode, Nathan Croxford and Taylor Stone break down what a Trump Account actually is (hint: it's not a 529, it's closer to a retirement account), who qualifies for the free seed money, and how it stacks up against Utah's my529 and a UTMA account. They walk through what happens the moment a child turns 18, when the account converts and the IRS starts treating withdrawals like income, and make the case for why most Utah families shouldn't choose just one of these accounts. Key Takeaways: Not a 529: A Trump Account is legally treated like a traditional IRA for a minor. There's no tax-free withdrawal bucket for education the way a 529 offers.The Free Money: Kids born 2025 through 2028 get a one-time $1,000 federal deposit, no strings attached beyond filing the election. Every other child under 18 can still open an account and contribute.What Happens at 18: The account converts to a standard IRA the child controls. Early withdrawals get hit with ordinary income tax plus a 10% penalty, with the same exceptions as any IRA (education, a first home, certain medical costs).Why My529 Still Wins for College: Utah's 529 offers a 4.5% state tax credit and fully tax-free withdrawals for education. A Trump Account can be used for school too, but every dollar of growth still gets taxed as income. Nathan Croxford and Taylor Stone are practicing attorneys at Voyant Legal in Utah. This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Visit voyantlegal.com or call 801.951.0500.

  5. Aug 7

    Protecting Your Retirement Accounts from the SECURE Act Traps Nobody Told You About [Ep.137]

    87% of people who inherit an IRA make a mistake that can destroy up to half the account's value. Most of them have never heard of the rule they broke. In this episode, Michael Haslam and Brian Edwards break down what actually happens after an IRA or 401(k) gets inherited. The old "stretch IRA" that let heirs spread withdrawals over their own lifetime disappeared in 2020, replaced by a flat 10-year window. And as of 2024, the IRS clarified something most families still don't know: many heirs also owe an annual required distribution in years one through nine, not just a deadline at year ten. Miss it, and the penalty is steep. Key Takeaways: The Stretch IRA Is Gone: Why the old model of "leave it to the kids, they'll spread it over their lifetime" stopped being true in 2020, and why so many plans are still built around it.The Real 10-Year Rule: How the 2024 final regulations settled years of confusion. If the original owner had already started required distributions, the heir owes annual distributions too, not just a lump sum by year ten.The 25% Penalty: What happens if a required distribution gets missed, and the two-year window that cuts the penalty from 25% down to 10%.The Roth Conversion Move: Why converting before death, while the owner is in a lower tax bracket than their kids will likely be, can shift the entire tax bill to a cheaper rate. Michael Haslam and Brian Edwards are practicing attorneys at Voyant Legal in Utah. This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Visit voyantlegal.com or call 801.951.0500.

  6. Jul 23

    Gen X: You're the Most Financially Exposed Generation and Nobody Is Talking to You [Ep. 136]

    62% of Gen X adults have zero estate planning documents — a higher rate than Gen Z, Millennials, or Baby Boomers. The generation carrying the most financial complexity is the least protected, and almost nobody is saying it out loud. In this episode, Nathan Croxford and Taylor Stone break down the four pressures hitting Gen X at the same time: supporting aging parents and kids simultaneously, inheriting IRAs under a brutal new 10-year distribution rule, approaching the biggest business exit of their lives, and doing all of it with outdated or nonexistent plans. They make the case for why right now — at peak earning and peak complexity — is the moment to actually build one. Key Takeaways: The Sandwich Squeeze: Why nearly half of adults in their 40s and 50s are supporting an aging parent and a child at the same time — and what happens when neither generation has the right documents in place.The Inherited IRA Time Bomb: How the SECURE Act's 10-year rule replaced the old "stretch IRA," and why inheriting a retirement account during peak earning years can push every dollar into the highest tax bracket.The Business Exit Window: How a $2–10M business sale can trigger $400K–$2M+ in taxes without pre-exit planning — and why the strategy has to start years before the sale, not after.The Outdated Plan Problem: Why a trust from 2011 with beneficiaries from when the kids were toddlers can be just as dangerous as having no plan at all. Nathan Croxford and Taylor Stone are practicing attorneys at Voyant Legal in Utah. This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Visit voyantlegal.com or call 801.951.0500.

  7. Jul 10

    Your Kid Just Turned 18: The 3 Documents Every Parent Needs Before College [Ep. 135]

    The moment your child turns 18, you lose all legal access to their medical records, school records, and financial accounts — not some access, all of it. Most parents find this out in a hospital waiting room, when it's too late to fix. In this episode, Nathan Croxford and Brian Edwards break down exactly what changes the day a child becomes a legal adult, and the three documents that restore a parent's ability to help — before the first week of college, not after an emergency. Key Takeaways: The HIPAA Wall: How turning 18 cuts parents off from medical records entirely — even if they're paying the insurance premium — and the HIPAA waiver that fixes it.HIPAA vs. Healthcare Directive: Why "access to information" and "authority to make decisions" are two different documents, and why a hospitalized adult child's parents need both.The Financial Power of Attorney: How this document covers bank accounts, student loans, housing contracts, and fraud response — and why being a joint account holder only covers that one account.Springing vs. Immediate Authority: Why an immediate power of attorney can act in a real emergency without the delay of proving incapacity.Nathan Croxford and Brian Edwards are practicing attorneys at Voyant Legal in Utah. This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Visit voyantlegal.com or call 801.951.0500.

  8. Jul 2

    6 Legal Ways to Reduce Your Taxes (That Most People Don't Know About) [Ep. 134]

    Selling a highly appreciated business, property, or investment usually means writing a big check to the IRS — but the tax code offers legitimate ways to reduce or eliminate that bill. Most people either don't know these strategies exist, or assume they're only for the ultra-wealthy. In this episode, Michael Haslam and Nathan Croxford break down six legal levers for reducing your taxes — from structuring a sale so it's never a taxable event, to deferring gains for decades, to shifting income to family members in a lower bracket. They cover who each strategy actually helps (business owners selling to family, real estate investors, high income earners, anyone sitting on an appreciated asset), why a properly structured trust can turn a taxable sale into a non-event, and why any strategy — no matter how good it sounds — needs to be vetted by a real tax attorney before you use it. Key Takeaways: The Non-Taxable Sale: How selling a business to a properly structured trust for your kids — instead of directly to them — can eliminate the taxable event entirely.The 1031 Exchange: How real estate investors defer capital gains taxes indefinitely by swapping properties, and why holding until death can erase the deferred gain for good through stepped-up basis.Deductions vs. Credits: Why a tax credit saves you a dollar-for-dollar amount while a deduction only saves you your tax rate — and how a cost segregation study can turn a $1M building purchase into a $300,000 deduction.Changing Your Tax Category: Why capital gains rates beat ordinary income rates for high earners, and how an S Corp structure eliminates self-employment tax on profit distributions. Michael Haslam and Nathan Croxford are practicing attorneys at Voyant Legal in Utah. This episode is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Visit voyantlegal.com or call 801.951.0500.

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We talk about the juicy details of cases that our law firm has dealt with. (Of course changing the names and details to protect attorney client privilege) Without using lawyer talk and legalese, we dive into what options our clients were faced with to fix their situation.

Information

  • Creator
    Voyant Legal, Mike Haslam, Nathan Croxford
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    141
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Voyant Legal, Mike Haslam, Nathan Croxford
  • Show Website
    Legacy Lawyers