WyHy Federal Credit Union

The Opportunity

A 95% Gap in Member Protection

The data that convinced Matt was stark — and simple. For a credit union whose mission is helping members build financial success, the estate planning gap represented both a member need and an institutional opportunity.

Only approximately 3 to 5% of Americans currently have a Will or a Trust — leaving 95% unprotected. Most of those unprotected members don't need a $2,000 attorney engagement. They need an accessible, guided tool — and a trusted institution to offer it through.

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Why Legal Karma

As Approachable as Filing Your Taxes

Legal Karma stood out for its ability to make estate planning feel as approachable as the self-serve tax completion tools that millions of Americans already use. The parallel was intentional: estate planning doesn't have to be intimidating, expensive, or time-consuming.

"Honestly, how I was describing Legal Karma to our own staff when we were rolling this all out was comparing it to self-serve tax completion tools. The system walks you through the steps."
— Matt Ballou, Chief Retail Officer, WyHy FCU

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The Launch

Notable for What It Didn't Require

Minimal IT lift. The most complex part of the entire implementation was working with WyHy's online banking provider (Alchemy) to build the link so members could access Legal Karma from within their digital banking experience. Everything else was straightforward.

"Legal Karma took the ball and they just ran with it. Very little lift required on our end, especially from the IT resources."
— Matt Ballou, Chief Retail Officer, WyHy FCU

Branding, Not Building

The bulk of WyHy's internal effort was making sure the experience looked and felt like WyHy — matching the brand so members would have a seamless experience. The technical implementation was handled by Legal Karma.

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The Results

Breakeven in a Quarter of the Time

WyHy built a conservative financial plan: break even on the Legal Karma partnership within 12 months. They hit that target in a quarter of the time. The speed to breakeven wasn't driven by aggressive marketing — it was driven by latent demand. Members wanted this service; they just hadn't been offered it through their credit union before.

"We put out a plan to break even on the Legal Karma partnership within 12 months as the goal. And we broke even in about 3.5 months — which I think speaks volumes for the amount of demand from our membership for a tool like this."
— Matt Ballou, Chief Retail Officer, WyHy FCU

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By The Numbers

3.5 months to break even — Broke even in a quarter of the projected 12-month timeline, driven by latent member demand for an accessible estate planning solution.

23 minutes to complete — Matt personally completed a joint trust for himself and his wife through Legal Karma in 23 minutes, making it easy to demonstrate the platform's simplicity to staff and members alike.

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Lessons Learned

1. Don't overthink the IT lift. The hardest part was building one link in their online banking portal. WyHy's experience proves it's not the barrier most credit unions expect.
2. Personal experience is the best training. When the CRO can say "I did it in 23 minutes," every conversation with staff and members gets easier.
3. Latent demand is real — and bigger than you expect. Breaking even in 3.5 months on a 12-month plan reflects the reality that 95%+ of Americans don't have a Will or Trust. When you offer an accessible solution through a trusted institution, they act.

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Who Should Read This

• C-Suite Leaders — The revenue model and breakeven analysis: how WyHy turned a 12-month projection into a 3.5-month reality.
• Operations Leaders — WyHy's minimal IT implementation approach and what the internal lift actually looks like.
• Digital Experience Leaders — The member completion time and UX data: 23 minutes for a joint trust, integrated directly into digital banking.

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