The process

Four meetings to a plan.

Eight weeks from the first hello to a signed page. Then two reviews a year for as long as you want them. Here is each meeting, what you bring and what you leave with.

Book a 45 minute introSee the fees
A small meeting room with two bone leather chairs, a low table and a verdigris ceramic vase

The four

Discover. Model. Decide. Maintain.

  1. 01Week 1 / 90 minutes / in person

    Discover

    You bring statements for every account, the last two tax returns, pay stubs, any stock plan documents, insurance declarations and the estate documents if they exist. We bring questions. The useful ones are not about money: when do you want to stop, who depends on you, what would you do with a Tuesday.

    • A one page net worth statement
    • A written list of the questions the plan will answer
    • Nothing to sign, and no fee if you stop here
  2. 02Week 3 / 60 minutes / in person or video

    Model

    Daniel builds the projection with your real numbers, not averages. Then we break it on screen together: a bad first decade of retirement, one spouse living to 97, a parent moving in, a layoff at 58. You watch which version of the plan survives and which does not, and you see the gap in dollars.

    • Three scenarios, side by side, with the assumptions printed
    • Your retirement gap or surplus as a number
    • A five year tax picture
  3. 03Week 5 / 60 minutes / in person

    Decide

    Both advisors are in the room. The one page plan is on the table. Every line is a decision with a date and an owner: retire in June 2031, claim Social Security at 70 and 67, convert $60,000 a year to Roth through 2034, sell 400 shares a quarter, retitle the brokerage account. You push back on anything. We rewrite in the room.

    • The one page plan, signed by you and your lead advisor
    • A twelve month action list with owners and dates
    • Account paperwork pre-filled and ready to sign
  4. 04Week 8, then spring and fall / 45 minutes

    Maintain

    At week eight we confirm every action landed: the rollover arrived, the beneficiary forms are on file, the 401(k) contribution changed. Then two reviews a year for as long as you are a client. Spring is the plan review with new balances. Fall is the tax review while there is time to act. The page gets reprinted whenever life changes it.

    • Two scheduled reviews a year
    • An October tax projection
    • Unlimited questions by email, answered within one business day

Questions

What people ask before meeting one.

How much does the plan cost?
Retirement planning is $4,800 to $9,600 a year, flat, set in the intro meeting by the complexity of the household and written into the agreement before you pay anything. It includes the four meetings, two reviews a year, tax planning and estate coordination. Investment management is separate and optional at 0.60% to 0.85% a year. There are no commissions on anything.
Do I have to move my investments to you?
No. The plan is the product. About two thirds of planning clients ask us to manage the portfolio afterward, and a third keep running it themselves from the plan's instructions. We never require assets under management and the planning fee is the same either way.
What do I need to bring to the first meeting?
Statements for every account, the last two tax returns, a recent pay stub for each earner, stock plan documents if you have equity, the declarations page of any insurance policies, and your estate documents if they exist. If you cannot find something, bring what you have. We send a checklist when you book.
What happens in the 45 minute intro?
You tell us the question that brought you in. We ask enough about your situation to tell you whether we can help, which services fit and what the fee would be. If we are not the right firm, we say so and give you a name or two. There is no charge for the intro and no obligation afterward.
Can we meet by video?
The Discover and Decide meetings are in person at the Los Gatos office, because the paperwork and the conversation both go better across a table. Model and Maintain meetings work well on video and most clients take them that way once the plan exists.
Are you a fiduciary?
Yes, on every recommendation, in writing, all the time. The firm is registered as an investment adviser and both advisors hold the CFP certification, which carries its own fiduciary duty. Nobody at the firm earns a commission, a referral fee or a bonus for recommending any product. See the disclosures page for the detail.
How long does it take to get the plan?
Eight weeks from the Discover meeting to the signed page, if documents arrive on time. Some households finish in six. Equity compensation plans run on their own four week track and then quarterly.
What if I only want a one time plan?
We offer it, at the first year fee, with the four meetings and the week eight follow up but no ongoing reviews. Most people who start that way come back for the fall tax review, so we price the ongoing year at the same rate and let you decide in November.

Next

Meeting zero is 45 minutes.

Before the four meetings there is a shorter one with no fee. Book it, bring the question that keeps you up, and we will tell you in the room whether this is the right place for it.

Book a 45 minute introMeet the advisors