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© 2020 Brickley Wealth Management
An integrated approach to family financial planning aligns tax, investment, and legacy strategies. Learn how it builds long-term security and generational success.
Blog Post
by Aaron Brickley, CFP®, CPWA®

Building a Family Financial Plan with an Integrated CPA and Advisor Team

Financial Planning
Tax Planning
Estate Planning
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Building Your Family’s Financial Future

Creating a family financial plan is one of the most important steps in creating long-term security and building a legacy of generational wealth. A strong plan goes beyond numbers. It aligns your financial decisions with your family’s goals, values, and the flexibility to adapt to life’s changes.

Achieving this requires more than just investment management or tax planning. It demands a holistic strategy that seamlessly integrates taxes, investments, cash flow, and legacy considerations into a single, forward-looking plan. Choosing a firm that combines CPA expertise with financial advisory services can be the key to making this happen.

The Foundation of a Strong Family Financial Plan

A family financial plan is designed to help you meet your current needs, prepare for life’s transitions, and secure your family’s future. This requires balancing a variety of elements, including:

  • Cash Flow: Ensuring your day-to-day and long-term needs are met without overextending resources.
  • Tax Efficiency: Minimizing taxes so more of your wealth is available to achieve family goals.
  • Investment Strategy: Growing and preserving wealth in alignment with your risk tolerance and objectives.
  • Legacy Planning: Protecting and passing on wealth in a way that reflects your family’s values.

Partnering with a firm that integrates CPA expertise and financial advisory services ensures your family’s needs are addressed with a cohesive, strategic approach.

How Integration Supports a Family Financial Plan

Here’s how combining tax expertise and financial planning creates a stronger, more effective family financial plan:

1. Comprehensive Decision-Making

Every decision in your financial plan—whether about funding education, planning for retirement, or supporting aging parents—has ripple effects. Combining CPA and financial planning expertise ensures your decisions are carefully evaluated from multiple angles, reducing risks and creating lasting confidence.

  • Example: When considering a real estate purchase, a CPA ensures the tax implications are clear, while the advisor evaluates how it fits within your cash flow and investment strategy.

2. Tax-Smart Strategies at Every Stage

Taxes are often one of the largest expenses families face, but tax planning isn’t just about minimizing this year’s bill—it’s about structuring your financial life for long-term tax efficiency.

  • Example: A family financial plan might include strategies like tax-efficient withdrawals in retirement, structuring trusts for estate tax savings, or planning equity compensation exercises to avoid unnecessary tax burdens.

3. Estate Planning and Legacy Goals

Estate planning is at the heart of a family financial plan. It ensures that wealth is preserved and passed on in a way that aligns with your family’s goals and values. By integrating CPA expertise, your plan includes tools like trusts, gifting strategies, and asset protection structures that minimize taxes and protect your legacy.

4. Proactive Planning for Life’s Transitions

Life is unpredictable, but a well-crafted financial plan evolves with your family’s needs. An integrated team anticipates changes, adjusting your plan in real time to reflect new priorities.

  • Example: If your child receives a large scholarship, an integrated approach reallocates funds from their 529 plan to support another goal, like family giving or travel.

How Integration Strengthens Your Family Financial Plan

When building a family financial plan, an integrated firm unlocks opportunities that a fragmented approach might overlook.

Equity Compensation

If you or a family member holds stock options, the right exercise and sale strategy requires a blend of tax and financial expertise. An integrated firm ensures these assets are optimized for both near-term tax savings and long-term wealth goals.

Charitable Giving

Charitable giving can be an integral part of a family’s legacy. Whether it’s through donor-advised funds, charitable trusts, or direct donations of appreciated assets, an integrated firm ensures your philanthropic goals are met in tax-efficient ways.

Retirement Planning

A family financial plan often includes planning for your retirement while balancing the needs of the next generation. Integrated expertise ensures that withdrawals, investment allocations, and tax strategies all work together to maximize resources.

Tax-Efficient Estate Transfers

Passing wealth to future generations without unnecessary tax burdens requires strategic planning. An integrated firm designs a plan that utilizes tools like trusts, lifetime gifts, and family partnerships to preserve and transfer wealth efficiently, all while supporting your family’s broader financial goals.

Why a Family Financial Plan Needs Integration

A family financial plan isn’t just a set of documents—it’s a living strategy that evolves with your family. The complexities of balancing daily financial needs, long-term goals, and generational wealth require seamless coordination across disciplines.

Choosing a firm that combines CPA and financial advisory expertise ensures:

  • Alignment: Every decision—from taxes to investments—works toward the same set of goals.
  • Efficiency: A single team eliminates the risk of miscommunication or overlooked details.
  • Adaptability: Your plan evolves with your family’s needs, guided by experts who understand both tax laws and financial strategy.

Why an Integrated Team Is the Key to Success

By working with a firm that integrates CPA and financial planning services, you gain more than just financial advice—you gain a partner in building your family’s future. This collaboration results in a financial plan that is forward-thinking, strategic, and designed to reflect your family’s unique goals and values.

When choosing a firm, look for one that understands the importance of a family-centered approach, combining technical expertise with a focus on what matters most: achieving your goals and preserving your legacy.

A well-crafted family financial plan doesn’t just create security—it creates opportunity. And with the right team, it can be the foundation for lasting success.

–––

Brickley Wealth Management is a Registered Investment Adviser*. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Brickley Wealth Management and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. The information throughout this website is solely for informational purposes. The content is developed from sources believed to provide accurate information, and we conduct reasonable due diligence review however, the information contained throughout this website is subject to change without notice and is not free from error. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital. Readers should conduct their own review and exercise judgment prior to investing and should carefully consider their own investment objectives and not rely on any post, chart, graph or marketing piece to make a decision. No investment or tax advice may be rendered by Brickley Wealth Management or Brickley & Company unless a client service agreement is in place. We are not providing any personalized investment advice through this website. Please consult your investment, tax, or legal advisor for assistance regarding your individual situation. Brickley Wealth Management does not provide legal advice, and nothing in this website shall be construed as legal advice. For more information on our firm and our advisers, please see the latest Form ADV and Part 2 Brochures and our Client Relationship Summary https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/287487. For a copy of our Privacy Notice, please go here.

*Please note that the term "registered investment adviser" and description of our firm and/or our associates as "registered" does not imply a certain level of skill or training.

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Key Financial Terms 
Related to this Post:

This is some text inside of a div block.

529 Plan

A 529 Plan is a tax-advantaged savings plan designed to encourage saving for future education costs, offering tax-free growth and withdrawals when used for qualified educational expenses.
This is some text inside of a div block.

Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

A licensed professional qualified to perform accounting, taxation.
This is some text inside of a div block.

Donor Advised Fund (DAF)

A Donor Advised Fund (DAF) is a charitable giving vehicle where donors contribute assets, receive an immediate tax deduction, and recommend grants to charities over time.
This is some text inside of a div block.

Equity

Typically, the value you may realize in owning shares of a company.
This is some text inside of a div block.

Risk Tolerance

An individual's willingness to take on financial risk in pursuit of investment returns. Influences asset allocation decisions, and may change from time to time.

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Contact@brickleywealth.com
(650) 638-0111

Brickley Wealth Management is a Registered Investment Adviser*. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Brickley Wealth Management and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. The information throughout this website is solely for informational purposes. The content is developed from sources believed to provide accurate information, and we conduct reasonable due diligence review however, the information contained throughout this website is subject to change without notice and is not free from error. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns. Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal capital. Readers should conduct their own review and exercise judgment prior to investing and should carefully consider their own investment objectives and not rely on any post, chart, graph or marketing piece to make a decision. No investment or tax advice may be rendered by Brickley Wealth Management or Brickley & Company unless a client service agreement is in place. We are not providing any personalized investment advice through this website. Please consult your investment, tax, or legal advisor for assistance regarding your individual situation. Brickley Wealth Management does not provide legal advice, and nothing in this website shall be construed as legal advice. For more information on our firm and our advisers, please see the latest Form ADV and Part 2 Brochures and our Client Relationship Summary https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/287487. For a copy of our Privacy Notice, please go here.

*Please note that the term "registered investment adviser" and description of our firm and/or our associates as "registered" does not imply a certain level of skill or training.

2020 Brickley Wealth Management. All rights reserved.
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