A Grandfather’s Lost Farm Inspired A Career Defending Landowners And Guiding Clients Through Bankruptcy

A lost farm, an oil rig where a home once stood, and a promise to protect families from ever facing that kind of surprise again—this conversation with attorney Jillian Hishaw is a masterclass in turning hardship into service. We sit down with the founder of Hishaw Law to unpack the real-world tools that help people keep their homes, preserve their vehicles, and reset crushing debt without losing everything. If you’ve ever believed bankruptcy means surrender, Jillian’s clarity on exemptions, trustee roles, and homestead protections will change your mind.

Jillian bridges bankruptcy, estate planning, and agricultural law with a rare blend of expertise and empathy. She explains how medical bills, old leases, and credit card balances spiral into lawsuits and how Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 can offer a path back to stability. We get specific about homestead equity limits, vehicle protections, and strategies that let families stay housed while addressing debt. The conversation also moves beyond balance sheets into timing—how creating a simple, durable estate plan before a health crisis can shield assets and reduce stress. For seniors and those nearing retirement, Jillian’s guidance on Medicaid planning and nursing home liens is a practical roadmap to protect what matters.

Rooted in her grandfather’s story and sharpened by decades serving farmers and ranchers, Jillian brings an agricultural lens to modern risks. She shares insights from her award-winning book, The ABCs of Agriculture, Blockchain and Crypto, revealing how data centers and crypto operations can reshape rural communities. From water and power demands to easements and long-term contracts, she offers questions every landowner should ask before signing. With resources spanning social media education, dedicated websites, and nonprofit outreach, Jillian’s mission is simple: inform people early so they can choose wisely.

If you care about keeping your home, planning your legacy, or safeguarding rural land from short-sighted deals, this episode delivers clear, plain-English guidance you can use today. Listen, share with someone who needs hope and direction, and join us in building a more financially resilient community. Subscribe for more neighbor-powered stories, and leave a review to help others find the show.

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, Nick George.

SPEAKER_02 (00:12):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Today I have the great pleasureof introducing your good
neighbor, Gillian Highshaw ofHighshaw Law.
Gillian, how's it going today?

SPEAKER_00 (00:23):
Oh, great, great.
How are you?
Thanks again, Mr.
George, for having me.

SPEAKER_02 (00:27):
Thanks for being here.
We love having you on.
We'd love to hear all about HighShaw Law and how it came into
existence and what you focus on.

SPEAKER_00 (00:36):
Sure.
So I focus on bankruptcy andestate planning along with
agricultural law.
So my legal master's is in aglaw.
And so I run a nonprofit and mylaw practice at the same time.

SPEAKER_02 (00:54):
Wow.
That's that's interesting.
And who are your donors?

SPEAKER_00 (01:00):
Um mainly like grocery stores.
So I've uh gotten donations fromWhole Foods, Bilo, Allstate, New
York Life, just variousfoundations and things.
So yeah, that's been inoperation for 12 years, and the
law practice has been inoperation for 10.

SPEAKER_02 (01:21):
Wonderful.
And what made you get into thisbusiness?
Or practice?

SPEAKER_00 (01:26):
Yeah, my grandfather, um, he was raised
on a farm in Oklahoma, 160 acresin Muscogee.
And when he relocated fromKansas City, which is where I'm
born and raised, uh, he hired alawyer to pay the property tax,
but the lawyer stole the moneyand the land was sold in a tax
lien sale without notice beinggiven to my papa.
So where his house used to be,there was an oil, oil rig there.

(01:50):
And so I went to law school atUniversity of Arkansas in
Fayetteville, and I got my LM,my legal master's in ag law, and
I've been offering free legalservices to farmers,
particularly aging farmers andranchers, for the past 20 years.

SPEAKER_02 (02:08):
That is beautiful.
What are some myths ormisconceptions in your
particular niche of the legalindustry?

SPEAKER_00 (02:18):
Um well, every time I tell somebody, which I I don't
um at times, that I'm anattorney, they think that I know
all of the answers to like theirlegal questions.
And they think, oh, you know, anattorney is a general
practitioner, and so you know,it's always child support or

(02:39):
alimony questions or criminal.
And I don't really do either.
So um I'm like, oh, you know, sothat's usually a generality, and
then that attorneys are rich,which you know, doing the whole
nonprofit thing, I'm I'mdefinitely, you know, not rich.

SPEAKER_02 (02:58):
So thanks for dispelling that.
Yeah, yeah.
Um so um who who is your targetclient and how are you reaching
out to them now digitally?

SPEAKER_00 (03:09):
So through the law practice, it's primarily people
that are um facing financialstress and strain.
So people who have a lot ofmedical debt, credit card debt,
um, past repossessions, oldrental lease agreements,
personal loans, those are thepeople that I'm reaching out to.

(03:30):
And then also people that reallywant to get their affairs in
order regarding simple estateplan before they have to qualify
for Medicaid and Medicare.

SPEAKER_02 (03:41):
That's awesome.
How are you reaching out to themdigitally?
Is it through social media orsome other form of advertising?

SPEAKER_00 (03:49):
Yes, sir.
Through social media.
So we I have a TikTok uh pagefor Highshaw Law, and then of
course I have my website.
So I have highshawlaw.com, andthen I have a few more other
websites, Medicaid Property.com,which specifically focuses on
educating seniors and peoplethat are in um their 50s uh

(04:13):
about Medicaid and how toprotect their assets from a
nursing home lien.

SPEAKER_02 (04:18):
For those of you out there that don't know how to
spell High Shaw, it'sH-I-S-H-A-W.
Jillian, how um have you everthought about doing your own
podcast?

SPEAKER_00 (04:31):
No, not all.
Not not at all.

SPEAKER_02 (04:35):
Because you mentioned that you you like to
educate people, and uh this isone way that people tune in now
to almost a word-of-mouth typeattraction.

SPEAKER_00 (04:43):
Oh, yeah, I I've I used to do a lot of podcast
interviews, but now I've justpublished a lot of books.
So I have about nine, ninedifferent books.
So this is the latest book thatI just published in February.
It just won the um NYC Big BookAward contest last month, and

(05:04):
it's educating property owners,particularly landowners and
farmers, about blockchain andcrypto and how to protect their
natural resources from um datacenters.

SPEAKER_02 (05:17):
Could you say the title of that book out loud?

SPEAKER_00 (05:19):
Sure.
The ABCs of agriculture,blockchain and crypto.
And it's available on my websiteat highshalaw.com.

SPEAKER_02 (05:31):
That's awesome.
Well, uh, Jillian, do you uh Iguess you told us where to find
you on on all the social medias.
What do you want to be the bigtakeaway from this interview uh
for listeners that find you umthrough searching?

SPEAKER_00 (05:45):
Yes, so definitely don't despair if you are facing
financial woes and challenges.
And if you file bankruptcy, youwon't, they the trustee won't
take all of your property.
That is a myth because there'scertain things as exemptions.
So as long, for example, inWyoming, which is where I
practice, as long as you haveless than 100K in equity, if

(06:09):
you're single, 200K, if it'sjoint, then your home is saved.
And even if you have over thatamount, there's ways to sort of
you know strip that cat so thatyou can still stay in your home.
And then also if you own one ortwo cars, definitely, you know,

(06:29):
the value can be as low as 4,000and you're still able to keep
your cars.

SPEAKER_02 (06:36):
So very interesting.

unknown (06:39):
Yes.

SPEAKER_02 (06:39):
Well, Jillian, we uh we we really appreciate you
being on the show, and we wehope the best for High Shaw Law
and you moving forward.

SPEAKER_00 (06:47):
Oh, thank you so much.
Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 (06:51):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on the
show, go to gmpfortcollins.com.
That's gmpfortcollins.com orcall nine seven zero four three
eight zero eight two five.