Frequently Asked Questions

The first conversation is a 30-minute introductory call.

We'll talk about what's happening in your financial life, what prompted you to reach out, and what you're hoping to accomplish. I'll also explain how I work and answer any questions you have.

There are no documents to prepare, no forms to complete, and no obligation to move forward.

The goal is simply to determine whether we're a good fit.

I primarily work with business owners, executives, and equity-compensated professionals who have high incomes and increasingly complex financial decisions.

Many of my clients are in their 30s, 40s, and 50s and are looking for help coordinating cash flow, taxes, investments, retirement, equity compensation, and other major financial decisions.

Yes. Licata Financial Design is based in Atlanta, but I work with clients nationwide. Most meetings are conducted virtually.

Advisory services are offered where RFG Advisory and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure.

There is no minimum investment requirement to work with Licata Financial Design.

The more important question is whether the complexity of your financial life and the decisions you're facing make financial planning valuable to you.

One-Time Financial Plan is for people who want comprehensive financial advice and are comfortable implementing the recommendations themselves.

Ongoing Planning is for people who want a financial advisor involved throughout the year to help them make decisions, coordinate with other professionals, and implement recommendations.

Wealth Management combines ongoing financial planning with professional investment management.

You can learn more about each option on the Services page.

No.

A One-Time Financial Plan does not include investment management, and neither One-Time Planning nor Ongoing Planning requires you to transfer your investments to me.

If you choose Wealth Management, we'll determine together which accounts and investments make sense to manage as part of the relationship.

The goal isn't to hand you a 100-page report.

We organize your financial picture in RightCapital, analyze the important decisions and opportunities, and then review the recommendations together.

You'll receive a written summary of the key recommendations and action items so you know what to do next.

What we recommend. Why we recommend it. What needs to happen next.

That's the plan.

It depends on the service you choose.

With a One-Time Financial Plan, you'll be responsible for implementing the recommendations.

With Ongoing Planning or Wealth Management, I'll stay involved and help carry more of the ongoing decision-making and implementation.

Either way, you're always the decision-maker.

I provide tax planning and tax-aware financial guidance, but I don't prepare tax returns.

For many clients, the best planning happens when their financial advisor and CPA are working from the same information. When appropriate, I'll coordinate with your CPA so that financial and tax decisions work together.

Yes.

I regularly coordinate with CPAs and other professional advisors when doing so benefits the client.

The goal isn't to replace your CPA or attorney. It's to make sure the financial decisions we're considering fit with the work they're doing.

That depends on your circumstances, but common questions include:

• How much should I keep in cash?
• How should I handle a large business distribution?
• What should I do with a bonus?
• How should I approach equity compensation?
• Should I contribute more to retirement accounts?
• Should I consider a Roth conversion?
• How should I invest excess cash?
• Can I afford a major purchase?
• How should I prepare for retirement?
• How should my investment strategy change as my circumstances change?

The common thread is that these decisions rarely exist in isolation.

Not automatically.

Investment strategy is part of all of my planning engagements, but professional portfolio management is included only with Wealth Management.

Both include ongoing financial planning and decision support.

With Ongoing Planning, you remain responsible for managing your investment portfolio.

With Wealth Management, I manage the portfolio as part of the broader financial planning relationship.

The portfolio serves the plan — not the other way around.

I believe investment decisions should be driven by the broader financial plan.

That means considering your goals, time horizon, cash-flow needs, taxes, risk tolerance, other assets, and major financial decisions — rather than treating your investment portfolio as a separate project.

Current starting fees are:

One-Time Financial Plan: $3,500

Ongoing Planning: $7,200 per year

Wealth Management: 1.00% on the first $1 million, 0.85% on the next $4 million, and 0.50% above $5 million.

The specific scope and fee for your engagement will be discussed before any work begins.

Absolutely.

In fact, that's often a natural progression.

You can start with a comprehensive financial plan, implement the recommendations yourself, and decide later whether having ongoing support would be valuable.

There's no obligation to become an ongoing client.

Wealth Management combines professional investment management with ongoing financial planning.

The goal is to manage your portfolio in the context of your broader financial life — including cash flow, taxes, retirement, equity compensation, business decisions, and other goals.

There's no one-size-fits-all meeting schedule.

With ongoing clients, we'll have regular planning conversations at least twice annually, but the relationship isn't built around simply checking a box every quarter.

If something important comes up between meetings, you can reach out.

The goal isn't more meetings. The goal is better decisions.

Yes.

That's one of the benefits of an ongoing relationship. If you're considering a meaningful financial decision, I'd rather you reach out before you act than wait until our next scheduled meeting.

That's exactly what the first conversation is for.

We'll talk about your situation, what you're looking for, and whether a One-Time Financial Plan, Ongoing Planning, or Wealth Management makes the most sense.

You don't need to figure that out before contacting me.

A financial advisor helps organize your financial life and coordinate the decisions inside it: how income arrives and where it goes, how much to save and where, how investments are structured, what taxes are likely, what risks are uncovered, and how the estate is set up. The work is ongoing rather than a single recommendation, because the decisions keep changing.

Ask directly, and read the firm’s Form ADV Part 2A and Form CRS. Registered investment advisers are held to a fiduciary standard when providing investment advice. Licata Financial Design offers advisory services through Investment Advisory Representatives of RFG Advisory, LLC, a registered investment adviser.

A financial plan is a written picture of where your finances stand today, what you're trying to accomplish, and the sequence of decisions that connects the two. It should cover cash flow, savings priorities, taxes, investments, insurance, estate considerations, and the specific decisions already in front of you.

That's often where planning earns its keep. Irregular income makes every month look different and makes it difficult to tell whether you're ahead or behind. A plan converts that variability into a structure: a base, a reserve, and a schedule for the goals that keep getting deferred.

Allocation follows from the plan: when the money is needed, what taxes apply, how much liquidity the household requires, what other assets and income sources exist, and how much volatility is appropriate for the goal. Two people with the same age and income can correctly hold very different portfolios.

Concentration is measured against the rest of your balance sheet and against what the position is funding, not as a fixed percentage. For clients with equity compensation, we look at concentration alongside vesting schedules, tax consequences, and the timing of the goals the position is meant to support.

The number is a function of the spending you intend to support, the length of retirement, other income sources such as Social Security or a business sale, and the taxes that apply along the way. Planning works backward from intended spending rather than toward a single headline figure.

Claiming age affects the monthly benefit for life, and interacts with spousal benefits, taxes, and any other income you plan to draw. It's a planning decision rather than a standalone one, and it's usually modeled against the full retirement income picture.

Tax preparation records what already happened. Tax planning is the work done in advance to change what will happen: the timing of income, the choice of accounts, the treatment of equity, charitable decisions, and the structure of a business. Licata Financial Design provides tax-aware planning and coordinates with your tax professional rather than preparing returns.

Most households need a will, powers of attorney for financial and health care decisions, and an advance directive. A revocable trust may be appropriate depending on your state, your assets, and your privacy preferences. Licata Financial Design coordinates with your attorney and doesn't provide legal services.

For clients who work with Licata Financial Design through RFG Advisory, assets are held at an independent custodian. Charles Schwab and Fidelity Investments serve as custodians on the RFG Advisory platform.