Among Friends

[Peaches McPhee]

Check with your county of residence to see if they have an Office for Aging.  They may be able to suggest a local nonprofit that does this -- low cost, and just as good advice as elsewhere.  

[itsmagic]

I like @Peaches McPhee ‘s answer but what also came to my mind (since you already have a financial planner) is to consult with an Elder Law Attorney. 

[Snoopp]

Can anyone tell me what they are paying with a percentage of assets invested?  Fees I've seen are in the 3-4 percent range.  I haven't seen anyone with an hourly or flat fee per project based fee structure.  

[panda1234]

It is smart of you to look outside the person you are using. Someone mentioned an Edler Law attorney and that is a good suggestion. My brother is an accountant and is very knowledgable in this area as well as others. So, an accountant is also a good resource. Best of luck.

[KathyPet]

There are Certified financial planners who are completely fee based.  They sell no products and receive no commissions.  They are paid directly by their clients.  Fees are based on the type of advice they provide either ongoing portfolio management or in my case a once and done project asking them to analyze a specific potential decision (moving to a continuing care community, choosing which continuing care community and selecting the right entrance and monthly fee structure based on my financial status).  They don’t sell you anything.

[KathyPet]

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@CalminHeart wrote:

I have a financial advisor who doesn't charge a fee and love her!  I've purchased products from her but also spent a lot of time with her over the years needing advice and she never charged me.  

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She may may not be charging you directly but she is making a commission from the products she is selling you. She sure isn’t providing you with financial advice for free.  You need to be aware of how and how much you are paying for her services.

[chrystaltree]

I'd ask your current financial advisor who you know, trust and have a relationship with for a referral to someone.  

[Kachina624]

I love my Edward Jones financial advisor.

[Mom2Dogs]

@KathyPet....our advisor is fee based...we are very pleased with the firm as well as how well our portfolio has done since we started working with them.

The situation you are talking about is something that if we were in your position, the firm would help us make an informed decision....but they also handle all our investments, I would 'guess' that if asked they would do a 'one shot' deal with a customer.

I would find a firm, and just ask.  You might prefer to put all your investments with the 'new firm'...we found that a fee based advisor was better for us than one that charges for every little thing that you do...our fee is based on our investments.  Good luck!

[Financialgrl]

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@Snoopp wrote:

I thought fee based included a percentage of investments. I just started looking at a few and haven't seen the flat fee structure yet.  Most want a cut of the investments which can be a lot of money.  

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Pretty much true; however, I know my planner/firm will allow ppl to make an appointment and not be a client or choose to not become one and receive one time advice and seen the charge for that be quoted as "$800".   That's either a little or a lot of money depending on what you want them to do.  

If you choose to handle your own investments but say every other year get a second opinion it's probably cheap.  If you think that $800 buys you the chance to pick up the phone and continually call back to ask other questions, I'm guessing they probably decide at some point that you've crossed the point where you now are into another whole scope of work and you'll have to pay again or more.