Comprehensive Family Financial Planning
COMPREHENSIVE FAMILY FINANCIAL PLANNING is necessary not only for planning for your basic needs but also to make your lifelong goals and dreams possible. The family financial plan is your road map for the present and the future.
We rely on our unique client-centred process to ensure you receive a comprehensive and customized plan focused on putting you on the right path toward reaching your goals.
The family with a special needs member requires additional specialized financial planning. We help those families define the special needs care involved while considering the quality of life of all family members and caregivers.
To ensure your success, we act as your financial coach and guide you toward those goals. As your financial planner over the long-term, our shoulder to shoulder involvement keeps you on track so your goals become reality.
The acronym DIRECT summarizes our approach to the 7 basic areas of Comprehensive Family Financial Planning:
D – Debt Management through Saving and Budgeting
Also known as cash management, this is the guts of any financial plan. Spending less than you make is easier in concept than in actual practice. There is greater emphasis on this area of financial planning for young people. But both young and old must be successful with this area to be able to achieve their long-term goals.
I – Insurance
While it is important to be adequately insured in all areas, most won’t know if they are under-insured until it’s too late. Our analysis will help you understand your current coverage needs. We’ll work with your current trusted providers to make sure you are adequately protected or provide you with a vetted list should you request one. As fee-only financial planners, we don’t sell insurance or receive commissions. We provide the unbiased analysis that discovers your true insurance needs.
E – Estate Planning
Estate planning is not something that should wait until later in life. It should be part of the overall financial planning process. The basic estate planning documents should be in place as soon as possible: a will, durable power of attorney for finance and health, a living will or any needed trusts. Those legal documents can give you and your loved ones peace of mind.
We’ll keep these documents on file and encourage you to regularly update them and let your loved ones of any updates to your estate plan. We’ll help you to understand key estate planning issues, including planning for philanthropic gifts or other legacy items. We’ll work with you and your attorney in a manner designed to keep your overall estate planning costs to an efficient minimum.
T – Tax Planning
Tax planning is an area of financial planning that often received only a token nod in the past. But tax planning is now receiving the attention it deserves. Obviously, any attempts to reduce taxes can have an enormous impact on all phases of one’s accumulation of wealth.
Many people unknowingly pay more taxes than they might otherwise need to. We will work closely with your tax advisors to minimize the tax exposure in your investment portfolio and other financial planning areas where you may not be taking full advantage.
I – Investments
Also known as cash management, this is the guts of any financial plan. Spending less than you make is easier in concept than in actual practice. There is greater emphasis on this area of financial planning for young people. But both young and old must be successful with this area to be able to achieve their long-term goals.
C – College Planning
College planning has taken a seat front center in most clients’ financial plan. The enormous present day four-year cost of educating a college student is rising at an inflation rate that often exceeds 8% a year. This planning can be challenging. Even more challenging is the debt management associated with the enormous size of student loan debt owed by many of today’s young adults.
MEET WITH A FEE-ONLY, TAX-SAVVY
FINANCIAL PLANNER
We offer a no-cost, no-obligation confidential consultation so you can see if we are the right fit for you.
