When someone is preparing to sell a business, financial complexity tends to spike all at once. A future liquidity event collides with legacy obligations from a prior divorce, questions about lifestyle and cash flow, the need to update an estate plan, high stakes investment decisions, and a big tax bill. At that moment, the most valuable asset is not a product; it’s clear, unbiased financial planning. The challenge is knowing where to find it, because not all financial planning is delivered in the same way as this post will explain.
Family Office Financial Planning: Integrated, Bespoke, and Operational
Family offices deliver financial planning as part of a broader, integrated service model rather than as a standalone service. In our case, we work with a small number of families and tailor the scope of work to each one. Some families engage us broadly, others narrowly, but the common thread is promoting clarity and allowing the decision makers to focus on decisions as opposed to administrative tasks.
Our work focuses on what clients least want to do themselves. We ensure bookkeeping, payments, consolidated performance reporting, tracking statements and records, coordinating annual filings, and ensuring that corporate, trust, and investment structures are administered properly. Many of our clients have multiple holding companies, trusts, private investments, and custodians. What they value most is a single point of coordination so they are not personally managing a web of professionals.
From a planning perspective, family office financial planning is typically purpose-driven. Rather than producing a generic, comprehensive plan, planning is done in conjunction with real decisions. These can include preparing for an asset sale, restructuring an estate plan, or transitioning responsibility to the next generation. Clients retain full authority at all times; we do not take custody of assets or make decisions on their behalf. Our role is to reduce administrative burden, free up headspace, and ensure that the right details are handled properly so clients can make decisions with confidence.
This approach tends to be most suitable for families with some moving parts. Often those with large investment portfolios, multiple entities, and multi-generational considerations, rather than someone seeking a single planning engagement.
“Free” Financial Plans from Wealth Management Firms: Helpful, but Generalized
Many wealth management firms offer comprehensive financial plans at no direct cost. These plans typically cover cash flow, net worth, retirement projections, insurance needs, and high-level estate considerations. For many investors, it’s an effective way to bring their financial life into focus and understand how different elements connect.
But it’s important to recognize the context in which these plans are delivered. They are designed to support an ongoing investment advice and are often used as part of an asset-gathering process. This does not diminish their usefulness, but it does mean they tend to be more standardized and less tailored to one-time events like a business sale, complex tax restructuring, or post-divorce financial realignment.
For investors who want a broad overview and ongoing investment advice, a financial plan from a wealth management firm can be a very reasonable and cost-effective option.
Fee-Only Financial Planning: Independent and Deeply Customized
If you’re seeking the highest degree of independence, fee-only financial planning firms offer advice that is not tied to selling investment products or managing assets. These plans are typically comprehensive, customized, and designed to coordinate tax, estate, cash flow, and investment considerations very deliberately.
The trade-off is cost. Fee-only plans are paid for directly and can range from roughly $5,000 to over $20,000, depending on scope and complexity. While the upfront fee can feel material, in situations involving liquidity events or complex tax planning, the value often appears quickly. This can occur through tax savings, avoided errors, and more efficient use of the client’s broader professional team.
In practice, these plans can be particularly effective when an investor wants a clear, unbiased roadmap before deciding who will ultimately implement various parts of the strategy.
Choosing the Right Financial Planning Approach
There is no universally “best” way to obtain financial planning advice. There are only approaches that are better suited to specific circumstances. Investors approaching a business sale often benefit from first clarifying what problem they are trying to solve. It is often a problem of clarity, coordination, independence, or execution. The right answer may even involve more than one of these models at different stages.
What matters most is transparency about incentives, clarity about scope, and alignment between the complexity of the situation and the depth of advice being provided.
