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.
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 (http://voyantlegal.com/) or call 801.951.0500.
18 Sept 2026
The Red Flags Every Utah Family Should Know Before Hiring an Estate Attorney [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 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, and documents with blank fields nobody caught. They break down the exact questions to ask an attorney before signing anything, and the red flags (a suspiciously low price, hourly billing on an already-signed trust, a firm that mails you documents and tells you to go find a notary) that usually mean shortcuts were taken.
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.
The Price Red Flag: A real estate plan takes real time. A quote far below what other firms charge usually means shortcuts are happening behind the scenes, and the family pays for it later.
The Questions to Ask: 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 (http://voyantlegal.com) or call 801.951.0500.
4 Sept 2026
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 (http://voyantlegal.com) or call 801.951.0500.
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