Coordinating Advisors: Financial Planner, CPA, and Attorney

Building a comprehensive financial plan often requires expertise beyond what any single professional can provide. A coordinated team of advisors—each with distinct specializations—ensures that tax strategies, estate documents, and investment decisions work together rather than in isolation. Understanding the roles, fee structures, and optimal timing for engaging each advisor creates efficiency and prevents costly oversights.

Core Advisor Roles and Responsibilities

Certified Financial Planner (CFP)

The CFP serves as the quarterback of your advisory team, responsible for integrating all aspects of your financial life into a cohesive plan. Primary responsibilities include:

• Cash flow analysis and budgeting strategies
• Investment policy development and portfolio oversight
• Retirement income projections and Social Security optimization
• Insurance needs analysis
• Coordination between tax and estate planning strategies

CFPs hold fiduciary responsibility when providing financial planning advice, meaning they must act in your best interest. They typically maintain ongoing relationships with clients, conducting annual or quarterly reviews.

Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

CPAs specialize in tax compliance, tax planning, and financial statement preparation. Their expertise includes:

• Federal and state income tax return preparation
• Tax projection and estimated payment calculations
• Business entity structuring for tax efficiency
• Audit representation before the IRS
• Qualified plan compliance for business owners

While some CPAs focus exclusively on compliance (preparing returns), others specialize in proactive tax planning. The latter category provides greater value when coordinating with your financial planner.

Estate Planning Attorney

Estate attorneys draft and maintain the legal documents that govern wealth transfer and incapacity planning:

• Revocable living trusts and pour-over wills
• Durable powers of attorney for financial matters
• Healthcare directives and HIPAA authorizations
• Irrevocable trusts for estate tax reduction
• Business succession documents
• Beneficiary designation review and coordination

Estate attorneys ensure that your intentions are legally enforceable and that documents comply with state-specific requirements.

Fee Structures Across Advisor Types

Understanding how each advisor charges allows you to budget appropriately and evaluate value received.

Hourly Rates

Hourly arrangements work well for specific projects or clients who need occasional advice rather than ongoing relationships.

Flat Fee Arrangements

Many advisors offer project-based pricing:

• Comprehensive financial plan: $2,500–$7,500
• Annual tax return preparation (complex): $500–$2,000
• Basic estate plan (trust, will, POA, healthcare directive): $2,000–$5,000
• Complex estate plan with irrevocable trusts: $7,500–$15,000+

Assets Under Management (AUM)

Financial planners often charge a percentage of invested assets they manage:

• Standard range: 0.50%–1.00% annually
• $500,000 portfolio at 0.75% AUM: $3,750/year
• $2,000,000 portfolio at 0.60% AUM: $12,000/year

AUM fees typically include investment management, ongoing financial planning, and coordination with other advisors. This model aligns advisor compensation with portfolio growth.

When to Involve Each Advisor

Triggers for Financial Planner Engagement

• Initial comprehensive plan development
• Annual plan reviews and updates
• Major life transitions (marriage, divorce, new child)
• Job changes affecting retirement accounts or stock compensation
• Inheritance or windfall events
• Pre-retirement income planning (5–10 years out)

Triggers for CPA Engagement

• Year-end tax planning (October–December)
• Estimated tax payment calculations quarterly
• Stock option exercise or RSU vesting decisions
• Rental property acquisition or disposition
• Business entity formation or restructuring
• IRS correspondence or audit notification

Triggers for Estate Attorney Engagement

• Initial estate document creation
• Every 3–5 years for document review
• After birth or adoption of children
• Marriage, divorce, or death of spouse
• Significant asset changes (crossing estate tax thresholds)
• Moving to a different state
• Changes to beneficiary intentions

Communication Protocol for Advisor Coordination

Effective coordination requires clear communication channels:

1. Designate a lead coordinator: Typically the financial planner
2. Authorize information sharing: Sign releases allowing advisors to communicate directly
3. Schedule joint meetings: Annual planning meetings with all advisors present (in person or virtual)
4. Maintain a shared document repository: Secure location where all advisors can access current documents

Worked Example: Business Owner Selling Company

Client Profile:

• Marcus, age 58, selling his manufacturing business
• Sale price: $4,200,000 (asset sale structure)
• Current income: $350,000/year from the business
• Existing assets: $800,000 in retirement accounts, $400,000 in taxable investments
• Goal: Retire within 2 years post-sale

Pre-Sale Coordination (12 months before)

Estate Attorney Tasks:

• Review and update estate documents to reflect anticipated wealth increase
• Establish Spousal Lifetime Access Trust (SLAT) before sale closes, funded with $1,000,000 of sale proceeds
• Draft updated pour-over will and trust amendments
• Fee: $8,500 for trust creation and document updates

CPA Tasks:

• Model tax impact of asset sale vs. stock sale (asset sale results in $840,000 ordinary income from depreciation recapture)
• Project total federal and state tax liability: $1,180,000
• Recommend installment sale structure: $1,500,000 at closing, $2,700,000 over 5 years
• Installment structure reduces year-one taxes by $380,000
• Calculate estimated payments for sale year
• Fee: $4,500 for tax modeling and return preparation

Financial Planner Tasks:

• Update retirement projections with sale proceeds
• Develop investment policy for $3,020,000 net proceeds
• Model withdrawal strategy: 3.5% initial rate = $105,700/year from portfolio
• Coordinate asset location across taxable, tax-deferred, and trust accounts
• Analyze health insurance options until Medicare eligibility
• Annual fee: $12,600 (0.60% on $2,100,000 managed assets)

Post-Sale Review Schedule

Total First-Year Advisory Costs:

• Estate Attorney: $8,500
• CPA: $4,500
• Financial Planner: $12,600
• Total: $25,600 (0.61% of sale proceeds)

Sample Annual Review Cadence

Advisor Coordination Checklist

Initial Setup

• Identify CFP with fiduciary standard and relevant expertise
• Select CPA with proactive tax planning orientation
• Engage estate attorney licensed in your state of residence
• Sign information sharing authorizations for all advisors
• Establish secure document sharing system
• Schedule initial joint planning meeting

Ongoing Coordination

• Conduct annual comprehensive review with all advisors
• Share major life changes with entire team promptly
• Review advisor fees annually for reasonableness
• Update beneficiary designations when estate documents change
• Confirm tax projections before year-end planning decisions
• Document action items and responsible parties after each meeting

Quality Control

• Verify each advisor maintains required credentials and licenses
• Confirm CFP acts in fiduciary capacity for planning advice
• Review conflict of interest disclosures annually
• Assess responsiveness and communication quality
• Compare fees to industry benchmarks every 2–3 years