Financial Planning for High Net Worth Individuals: A Guide
Financial planning for high net worth individuals covers taxes, equity pay, retirement income, and estate documents, with trade-offs and sources.
Written guides
Financial Planning Articles
Longer-form answers to the questions that come up before and during a planning relationship: what advice costs, when to hire someone, how Roth conversions, Medicare premiums and required distributions interact, and how the pieces of a household’s finances connect. From Joel Miller, CFP® and Flames Financial Planning.
The articles on retirement tax sit under the retirement tax planning overview, which sets out how the decisions connect and what each membership includes.
Financial Planning for Early Retirement: A Neutral Guide
How to plan for early retirement: covering spending before 59½, health coverage before Medicare at 65, and Social Security at 62 to 70, with trade-offs.
Edward Jones Fees in 2026: Schedule, Examples and IRA Costs
Edward Jones Advisory Solutions fees start at 1.35% plus a 0.05% platform fee. See the published schedule, example dollar costs, IRA fees and what to ask.
What Are Retirement Planning Goals? A Neutral Decision Guide
Retirement planning goals are the outcomes you want from retirement. See the common goal areas and the decision each one drives, from income to Medicare.
RSU Tax Withholding: How It Works at Vest and Why It May Differ From Your Tax Bill
A neutral guide to RSU tax withholding: how RSUs are taxed at vest, the federal supplemental withholding rates, Social Security, Medicare and Minnesota withholding, why withholding can differ from a household's actual tax, and the options households commonly weigh.
ESPP Tax Rules: Qualifying vs Disqualifying Sales, Explained
A neutral guide to employee stock purchase plan taxes: the 2-year and 1-year holding period tests, how ordinary income and capital gain are split, what Form 3922 and your W-2 show, and whether ESPP contributions are pre-tax.
How Does Retirement Income Planning Work?
A neutral guide to retirement income planning: how Social Security, pensions, and IRA, Roth, and brokerage withdrawals fit together and are taxed.
Financial Order of Operations: A Neutral Guide to Where the Next Dollar Can Go
A neutral guide to the financial order of operations: a common framework for sequencing employer match, cash reserves, debt, HSA, retirement accounts, equity compensation, and taxable investing, with 2026 limits cited to IRS sources.
Accountant vs Financial Advisor: Who Handles What, and When to Call Each
A neutral guide to what a CPA or accountant typically handles, what a financial planner typically handles, and how the two roles coordinate for high-income households and corporate employees.
Qualified vs Ordinary Dividends: How Each Is Taxed in a Taxable Account
A plain-language guide to qualified and non-qualified dividends: how Form 1099-DIV reports them, the federal rates for tax year 2026, the holding-period test, and how they interact with the net investment income tax and Medicare premium surcharges.
How Aggressive Should Roth Conversions Be? A Bracket-by-Bracket Way to Decide
A Roth conversion is a choice about which year to pay tax and at what rate. How to pace conversions against the 2026 brackets, the IRMAA thresholds, a surviving spouse's single-filer rates and heirs' 10-year rule, with a worked example.
Roth Conversions and IRMAA: The 2026 Medicare Surcharge Brackets, Explained
The 2026 Medicare Part B and Part D income-related surcharges (IRMAA), tier by tier, with the two-year lookback, what counts as income, how Roth conversions and capital gains trigger a tier, and how to appeal after you retire.
Required Minimum Distributions at 73 or 75: Planning the Tax Impact Before They Start
When required minimum distributions begin, what they force onto the return, how they interact with Social Security and Medicare premiums, and the moves that change the outcome in the years before: Roth conversions, qualified charitable distributions and account order.
Which Account to Draw From First: Retirement Income Planning for a $2 to $5 Million Portfolio
How to sequence withdrawals across taxable, tax-deferred and Roth accounts in retirement: why the conventional order can cost the most, how to level taxable income across the years before Social Security and required distributions, and how the 2026 brackets, capital-gain rates and Medicare thresholds shape the plan.
Asset Location: Which Investments Belong in a Roth IRA, a Brokerage Account and a Traditional IRA
Asset allocation decides how much risk a household takes; asset location decides how much of the return it keeps. Which investments belong in a Roth IRA, a taxable brokerage account and a traditional IRA in 2026, how to stay diversified across all three, and how the answer changes when part of the money is meant for heirs or charity.
Managing Capital Gains Taxes in Retirement: The 0%, 15% and 20% Brackets, the 3.8% Tax and Gain Harvesting
How long-term capital gains are taxed in 2026 (0% up to $98,900 of joint taxable income, 15% to $613,700, 20% above, plus the 3.8% net investment income tax), how gains stack on ordinary income and compete with Roth conversions, and the moves that manage them: harvesting gains in low-income years, specific-lot selling, giving appreciated stock, and leaving low-basis positions for the step-up.
Social Security Claiming Strategy: 62, 67 or 70?
Claiming Social Security at 62, 67 or 70 changes the monthly amount, survivor income and taxes. See the trade-offs and SSA and IRS figures, as of 2026.
Roth Conversions and the AUM Fee: How an Advisor's Pricing Can Shape Retirement Tax Advice
Nearly every retirement tax recommendation, from paying conversion tax out of the portfolio to spending the IRA first, giving appreciated stock or paying off a mortgage, reduces the assets an advisor manages. What that means for a household that pays a percentage of assets, why so many people shopping for Roth-conversion help ask for a flat fee, and how to tell whether the structure is shaping the advice.
The New Trump Investment Account: What Parents and Grandparents Need to Know
Learn how Trump investment accounts for children work, who may qualify, tax considerations, and how parents and grandparents can evaluate them.
Retirement Planning at Age 55: A Complete Guide
Retiring around age 55? Review savings, investment risk, taxes, health insurance, Social Security, and income decisions for the next 5 to 10 years.
Should I Hire a Financial Planner With $1 Million?
Have $1 million saved? Learn when a financial planner can help coordinate retirement income, taxes, investments, risk, and long-term decisions.
What Does a CFP® Professional Actually Do?
Learn what a CFP professional does across retirement, investments, taxes, insurance, estate coordination, and ongoing financial planning.
Next step
Want These Decisions Handled With You?
A discovery meeting is a conversation about your situation and whether a flat-fee planning relationship fits it.