Checklist for Interviewing a Financial Advisor

In the pursuit of financial success and long-term prosperity, teamwork and coordination among various professionals is essential. Fostering synergy and alignment between your financial advisor, certified public accountant (CPA), and estate planning attorney is the key to feeling confident about your plan. Comprehensive wealth management, effective estate planning, and seamless execution of financial goals is a cooperative effort. In this article, we'll explore the benefits of collaboration and the importance of having your financial advisors, CPA, and estate attorney working together, in concert, to help you achieve your objectives. This checklist for interviewing a financial advisor can assist you in making a more informed decision, helping you to connect with an advisor who is both interactive and proactive.

Does Your Financial Advisor Understand Your Estate & Probate Issues?

Probate is a legal process wherein a court validates a deceased individual's will, settles outstanding debts, and distributes assets to beneficiaries. However, probate can be time-consuming, costly, and subject to public scrutiny. For these reasons, many high-net-worth individuals prefer to establish a trust to avoid these issues and keep matters private.

At ClearPlan Wealth Management, we foster collaboration with your estate planning attorney and CPA to help you understand the probate process and its potential impact on your estate. By implementing strategies such as trusts and beneficiary designations, you can often streamline asset distribution and avoid the complexities of probate.

One of the key advantages of collaboration is gaining clarity on how different accounts may pass through your estate. Many individuals are unaware of how accounts are governed by wills and which assets may bypass probate entirely. By working together, ClearPlan serves as the quarterback to ensure coordination from each of these professionals on the important considerations. This collective approach allows us to assess your financial portfolio, help identify accounts subject to probate, and develop strategies to minimize the impact of probate on your estate. Most importantly, this may help prevent your estate from becoming part of the public record and domain.

Does Your Financial Advisor Review Your Beneficiary Designations?

A critical aspect of your overall financial picture is ensuring beneficiary designations are recorded correctly and accurately reflect your wishes. In addition, it is important to review beneficiary designations annually. Whether it is retirement accounts, life insurance policies, or investment accounts, your beneficiary designations, as directed by you, dictate who receives specific assets upon your passing. Working closely with your estate planning attorney, we help align your financial and estate planning goals.

We recommend an annual review of your current family, financial, and income matters to ensure that your beneficiary designations are accurate.

Collaboration with Your Professional Advisors

Effective collaboration among your circle of professional advisors centers on cohesion and understanding of your unique financial situation and goals. Working together seamlessly, your financial advisor, CPA, and estate planning attorney can develop a comprehensive financial strategy that integrates tax planning, investment management, and estate planning. By sharing information and insights, these professionals coordinate efforts, identify potential issues, and proactively address challenges to help optimize your financial outcomes. ClearPlan’s founder, Troy Brewer, is an active member of the Baltimore Estate Planning Council, a professional group that helps foster partnership and knowledge-sharing.

Each member of your professional advisory team brings a unique set of skills and expertise to the table. By leveraging collective knowledge and experience, we help you to capitalize on financial opportunities and navigate complex financial landscapes with confidence. Whether it is tax optimization strategies, investment diversification, or estate planning techniques, team collaboration allows you to access a wealth of resources and insights tailored to your specific needs and objectives.

Is Your Current Financial Advisor Collaborative and Proactive?

In summary, a skilled partnership between your financial advisor, CPA, and estate planning attorney is an essential tool in helping you work toward financial success and pursue peace of mind. So, why do so many clients come to us and say, “My former financial planner never discussed this with me?” What a great question!

Troy Brewer, founder of ClearPlan Wealth Management, has a talent for connecting successful people while serving as a respected mentor helping guide clients on the path to prosperity. By facilitating an all-encompassing approach to wealth management, he utilizes his extensive network of resources including estate planners, accountants, real estate professionals, and business leaders to develop creative financial solutions for his clients. By fostering meaningful relationships, orchestrating financial strategies, and serving as a trusted confidant, Troy helps his clients envision and pursue their desired life and legacy. Does your current financial advisor do that? If not, contact us to get the conversation started.

Any opinions are those of ClearPlan Wealth Management and not necessarily those of Raymond James. Expressions of opinion are as of this date and are subject to change without notice. While we are familiar with tax provisions of the issues presented herein, as Financial Advisors of Raymond James, we are not qualified to render advise on tax or legal matter. You should discuss tax or legal matters with the appropriate professional.