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Process

Initial Engagement

All new relationships begin with an Initial Engagement, a comprehensive review of all aspects of your financial life:

  • Retirement Savings & Income Planning
  • Investment Planning
  • Income Tax Planning
  • Risk Management & Insurance Planning
  • Estate Planning (limited)

An Initial Engagement is 7 to 12 hours for individuals ($2,765 to $4,740) and 12 to 17 hours for couples ($4,740 to $6,715), billed at $395 per hour.

During an Initial Engagement, we go through a discovery process so that I can learn more about you and your family, your goals, values, objectives, and more. Expect 2 to 3 meetings by video call and/or in person, a written Executive Summary of my insights and recommendations, and one additional month for follow-up questions.

On-Demand Financial Planning

After the Initial Engagement, any further planning is completely optional. On-Demand Financial Planning is available at the same $395 hourly rate, and you are billed only when we do planning work.

Retirement Income Planning, Tax Planning, and Investment Planning are core areas of focus; however, all aspects of your financial life covered during an Initial Engagement are included.

I don’t check in on a schedule. You reach out when life changes or a decision with financial implications comes up. Quick emails and brief phone calls are always free of charge, and I recommend a checkup meeting at least once a year, ideally in the fall (September through November).

The Initial Engagement, Step by Step

Here is what happens between your introductory call and the end of your Initial Engagement. Most engagements last about 1.5 to 3 months from start to finish.

Organized, comfortable, confident: those are the three words I use to describe what changes for a new client in the first 90 days of working together.

My clients use the same words in their reviews. They write that they feel “completely organized,” “comfortable” about being able to retire, and “more confident about our next steps,” and that my guidance was “clear, practical, and easy to implement.” You can read their reviews on my Testimonials page.

  1. 1. Introductory Call

    A free, 30-minute call about your situation and what you want help with. There is no cost for anything before you sign an agreement.

  2. 2. Information and Data Gathering

    You complete a couple of basic questionnaires, set up RightCapital, and share files with me in a secure Dropbox folder. You either link your accounts in RightCapital or provide statements for every asset and liability. Spreadsheets you’ve built are helpful to share, but they are not enough by themselves.

  3. 3. Initial Fee

    You pay the initial fee: 25% of the maximum Initial Engagement fee.

  4. 4. Preliminary Review Meeting

    We meet to make sure all of your information is organized and that I understand it correctly.

  5. 5. Executive Summary

    Within about two weeks of that meeting, I email you your Executive Summary: a narrative document, typically 5 to 10 pages, with bulleted, action-oriented recommendations.

  6. 6. Recommendations Meeting

    Once you’ve had a chance to review the summary, you schedule our next meeting. We go through your questions and comments and talk in more detail about my insights and recommendations.

  7. 7. One Month of Follow-Up

    You then have an additional month to fully digest our conversations and the summary, with plenty of time for follow-up questions and additional guidance as you implement.

  8. 8. Remaining Balance

    At the end of that month, you pay the remaining balance for the time spent. Your total Initial Engagement fee is capped at the maximum in our signed agreement.

Discover, Analyze, Collaborate, Implement

Discover

I call my firm Discovery Wealth Planning for a reason. I believe the discovery phase is the most important part of the financial planning process. I can’t help you reach your goals until I understand what they are.

Analyze

Using your goals as a guide, I conduct a thorough analysis of your entire financial life to identify opportunities and challenges.

Collaborate

We work together to develop a financial plan to help guide your future and your retirement goals.

Implement

You put the plan into action in your own accounts, with my guidance during the follow-up month and any On-Demand planning you choose.

The Tools We Use Together

We work together primarily by email and Zoom, with RightCapital for financial planning and Dropbox for sharing files.

Clients are required to use Dropbox for secure file sharing. Here is a link to their information security protocols.

I use RightCapital for financial planning. Here are their Terms of Service, Security, Privacy, and Disclosure documents.

Linking your accounts in RightCapital is highly preferred but not required. You may instead upload recent statements for all assets and liabilities to our shared Dropbox folder, though manual data entry may add time to the engagement.

You’ll have RightCapital access for at least 12 months after your Initial Engagement. If we do planning together at least once a year, your access continues.

Here is a list of documents I may ask for, and here is a list of areas I can help with.

Questions About the Process

Questions Before You Start?

The FAQ page covers timing, meetings, and what you’ll receive. When you’re ready, schedule your free introductory call.

Read the FAQsSchedule a Call