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WE HAVE A FINANCIAL PLANNING PROCESS THAT FOCUSES ON YOU AND YOUR FINANCIAL GOALS.

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The Process

Lutz Financial creates a comprehensive plan that addresses your immediate and long-term goals. You are an active member in the initial stages of creating this plan – it is a personalized plan that is developed with your unique goals in mind.

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Discovery Meeting

This first meeting allows us to assess your current situation, financial goals, and your feelings regarding capital markets. This process of gathering information is then translated into the data that sets the stage for future meetings where we delve more deeply into your personalized plan.

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Financial Planning Meeting(s)

We take a variety of critical areas into account during financial planning meetings. The number of financial planning meetings varies depending upon each client. We will never waste your time and we will always ensure that your concerns are heard.

COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL PLANNING

Lutz Financial won’t simply help you develop a financial plan – we’ll help you implement the plan and adjust as necessary. We don’t see our interactions with our clients as a one-time deal. Rather, we develop a lifelong relationship with our clients to ensure their financial success.

RETIREMENT CASH FLOW

Understand where you’re at financially and, more importantly, where you’re going.

Model out your financial future using cutting-edge retirement software implemented by seasoned CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERS™
For those in or nearing retirement, know what level of spend is sustainable and estimate how much you could pass to heirs or charity.
If retirement is years away, learn how much you need to save each year to reach your goals and how best to prioritize among the savings vehicles available to you.
Appropriately factor in reasonable assumptions for taxes, inflation, investment growth, longevity, healthcare costs, long-term care costs, social security strategies, family gifting and anything else that is relevant to your picture.

ESTATE PLANNING

We make sure that your plan is fully implemented and that it keeps up with your life as it evolves.

We’ll provide an overview of the current estate and gift tax landscape at the federal and state level.
If you already have an estate plan, we will review it with you in plain English to make sure you understand what’s in place.
If you don’t have a plan, we’ll provide an overview of what you may need and why so that you’re better prepared when you meet with an attorney to draft your documents.
We’ll help ensure that your plan is fully implemented by confirming your asset titling and beneficiary designations are set up as intended.
Going forward, we’ll help you monitor if there’s a change in your situation or the tax/estate landscape that might warrant an update to your plan.

EDUCATION

School costs keep rising; we’ll help you prepare for the tsunami of tuition bills you may face in the future.

Understand how 529 plans work and how they can optimize your educational savings from a tax perspective.
Model out the costs of different schools to learn how much you need to save each year to adequately fund your anticipated needs.

SOCIAL SECURITY & MEDICARE

The rules are complex; understand your rights and obligations to maximize your benefits.

Know the various social security withdrawal strategies and how they may fit into your overall plan.
Use cutting-edge software to model out how your social security benefits compare at different claiming ages and determine what is the best strategy to maximize benefits as a couple.
Understand what Medicare covers and what it doesn’t and the timing of when you need to file for benefits.
If you plan on retiring before Medicare kicks in, know what potential costs you may be facing with a private, individual health insurance policy.

INVESTMENTS

Some advisors prescribe before diagnosing; we don’t advise on your investments until we know your full picture.

Know how your investments fit into your overall plan and how much risk you need to take to achieve your financial goals.
Understand why your stock-to-bond mix can vary among your different investment accounts depending on how they fit into your plan and when you plan on utilizing the funds.
As you approach retirement and move from the accumulation phase to the distribution phase, learn how to adjust your investment allocation based on your spending needs and how to utilize your portfolio to meet those needs.
Click here for an overview of our investment philosophy.

INSURANCE

we’ll help you UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU NEED TO PROTECT YOUR INTERESTS.

Life Insurance – model out your overall need using our planning software based on your income, debt, years to retirement, spending needs and all other factors relevant to your situation.
Learn the pros and cons of the different types of coverages (term vs. permanent) and understand which is most appropriate for you.
Disability Insurance – know what coverage is provided by your employer and determine if you need additional individual coverage to better protect your income.
Long-Term Care Insurance – understand your odds of needing it, potential costs, the current products available and if you are in a financial position to self-insure against this risk.
Personal Umbrella Insurance – make sure you are adequately protecting your balance sheet based on your specific risk profile.

TAX

You may be focused only on this year’s tax return; we’ll help you tax plan for the rest of your life.

Know the features of the different tax-advantaged savings vehicles available to you and which to prioritize based on your goals and situation.
- 401k’s, 403b’s, profit-sharing, cash balance, pensions, SEP IRAs, Simple IRAs, traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, back-door Roth IRAs, UTMAs, 529s, HSAs, etc.
Understand the tax treatment of any deferred compensation, employer stock or other employee incentives you may receive.
Know the gift tax and estate tax rules in order to maximize your legacy to the next generations.
Learn how to manage your balance sheet to provide for optimal tax flexibility for savings today and tax-efficient withdrawal strategies in the future.

CHARITABLE

You’ve worked hard for your money; let us help you and your family maximize its impact on your community.

Understand the various vehicles available to help you leverage your dollars for your favorite charities.
Donor advised funds, charitable checkbooks, private foundations, charitable trusts, etc.
Utilize qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) from IRAs as the giving vehicle of choice if over age 70.
Have a well thought out plan for how much you want to leave for your heirs vs. charity.

BUSINESS OWNERS

You need a financial plan that properly integrates your business and personal goals.

Contingency Planning – what happens to the business if something happens to you, a partner or a key employee?
Transition Planning – are you contemplating an eventual transfer to family, key employees or sale to a third party?
Model out different scenarios with your business to understand how they may impact your long-term personal picture.
Coordinate your personal and business tax situation in order to minimize your overall tax burden.

PROFESSIONAL COLLABORATION

We will work side-by-side with your other advisors to ensure that all your needs are met.

Your interests are best served when your financial adviser, CPA, attorney, banker, insurance professional, trustee and any other advisors are working together and see the whole picture. Let us help you facilitate the proper professional interaction.
When appropriate, we can make introductions to our vast network of other professionals to fill any existing gaps you may currently have in your planning.

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