FAQ

You need a financial planner for any number of reasons. Maybe you’re in a financial crisis, or maybe you want to takes steps to work toward your financial well being. Maybe you just want to make sure your financial house is in order so you can afford the kids’ education or your own comfortable retirement. For these reasons and many more, you need a financial planner.

First, we get to know you. Then we work with you to identify your goals, and we create a timetable for working towards them. We evaluate your resources – education, income, assets, etc. – and review financial strategies to maximize the earning power of those resources. We put it all to a reality test and advise you in making the adjustments that will works towards where you want to go. We educate you so you can better understand the financial concepts and strategies at work, and we monitor your progress of your goals. We are there with you, every step of the way.

The fee for your first consultation (approximately two hours) is $250. During that time, we will talk about the entire spectrum of financial planning, including debt management and tax strategies, business and retirement, insurance and estate planning, education and family obligations. If we can resolve the issues then and there, that is all we need to do. If we need to do more, the fee is $150 an hour.

Some clients will want to go on an annual retainer because they need ongoing consultation. The annual retainer is either $1000, $1300 or $1600 for the year depending on the scope of the services that will be provided.

We charge fees and we can work on a fee-only basis. Our professionals do maintain securities registrations and an insurance licenses, and sometimes it can be to the client’s financial benefit to take some action that will result in a commission being paid. However, we will never do anything that generates a commission without first providing full disclosure and explanation to the client, and securing the approval of the client.

Yes, we do tax returns, but on a very limited basis. If you have an accountant and prefer to continue that relationship, we will work with your accountant. If you do not have a strong relationship with a tax preparer, depending on the nature of your  particular tax situation, we  can refer you to one of our preferred accountants or under special circumstances, we would prefer to do your returns because we will know your entire financial picture and can shape a tax strategy that will help you to press towards your overall financial goals. By law, fees for tax return preparation cannot be co-mingled with the advisory fee, but our tax preparation fees are very reasonable and are, we believe, usually less than those of national firms.

It depends on you -- you can bring as much or as little as you want. If you are comfortable with sharing documents during the first session, then we would like to see your previous year’s tax return, most recent pay stub or IRS Form 1099; documents relating to employee retirement plans, pension plan estimates, deferred compensation plan statements, and any investment statements other than employer retirement plans; accounts for children (if they have a trust or are the beneficiary of a trust, the paperwork related to that); individual insurance policy statements and contracts – virtually anything that has a number on it! If you are on Quicken, we would like to see a register report or profit and loss statement or balance sheet.

If you decide to retain our services on a contractual basis, your initial consultation fee will be rolled into the retainer fee, so you don’t lose the $250. If you did not bring statements to the first session, we will review them at the second session. For many clients, we will do a cash flow analysis at the second meeting. By the third session we will  have a tentative plan and we will review the pros and cons of various options, then we will  revise and review again. By the fifth appointment, we will get into implementation. Then ww will follow up, tie up loose ends and monitor. If we are on retainer, we have an open policy on telephone calls and e-mails; if there is a question or a problem, we would prefer to hear from you immediately so we can resolve it quickly.

Fortunately for our firm, Congress seems to keep us perpetually employed!  There are so many tax code changes every year that effect investment, insurance, estate, and income planning that it is difficult to imagine that someone would not need regular assistance.  In the event that you do not desire our services any longer, you may stop working with us, at your discretion.

Absolutely not! Confidentiality is the bedrock of our relationship with each and every client. There are two reasons for this. One is legal: As a licensed professional, a Registered Investment Advisor , CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER TM, professional and a Certified Investment Management Analyst, TM, disclosure of confidential information would violate our fiduciary responsibility and the standards established and required by the agencies that license this firm. The second is pragmatic: Without your faith in the confidentiality of our relationship and the information you provide, we are unable to do the work we need to do, and we cannot work towards the goals that will make our relationship successful.

We have a non-disclosure policy for employees and they have access only to those records that they must see. We also have a privacy policy statement that is given to each client every year. These are more than words. These are our core values, and our solemn pledge to you.

Privacy Policy for Tax Preparation Clients
Privacy Statement and Disclosure

10. What do you do as a divorce financial analyst? How do you charge for these services?

We analyze the financial ramifications of proposed settlements, assist in preparation of financial affidavits and equitable distribution forms, help create a plan for equitable distribution, assist in formulating a plan for recovery from divorce so both parties maintain financial integrity, assist attorneys in the preparation of Qualified Domestic Relations Orders to separate pensions and retirement plans so they are in compliance with all pertinent laws and agencies, assist with understanding the tax consequences of proposed distributions and settlements, and help secure alimony and child support with life and disability insurance. For this service we charge $150 an hour, with no retainer.