Tax
Federal + State + Entity
AMT, NIIT, QBI, surtax brackets, state nonresident filings, entity-level S-corp/PTET elections — modeled together each year.
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Once a household reaches meaningful net worth, complexity stops being linear — it compounds. Coordinated planning addresses tax, estate, concentrated positions, business equity, asset protection, and generational transfer as one connected system.
High-net-worth (HNW) financial planning is coordinated planning for households where the complexity of the balance sheet — not just its size — requires more than mainstream retirement-and-investment advice. Industry convention places HNW at $1M+ in investable assets, very high net worth at $5M–$30M, and ultra-high-net-worth above $30M. The numbers are conventions; the real marker is complexity.
That complexity usually shows up as concentrated stock or RSU positions, business equity, multiple entities, real-estate holdings, irrevocable trusts, charitable structures, state estate-tax exposure, and goals that extend beyond a single generation. Every one of those items interacts with at least three others. A change to one — say, exercising ISOs in a given year — ripples through capital gains, AMT, Roth-conversion room, 529 superfunding, charitable timing, and estate exemption use.
The job of HNW planning is to model those interactions in advance and make decisions on purpose, not by default. That's only possible when one planner sees the whole picture.
Who It's For
Households with $1M–$25M+ in net worth and meaningful balance-sheet complexity
Executives with concentrated employer stock, RSUs, ISOs/NSOs, or deferred comp
Business owners with operating-company equity, real estate, and personal investments
Families with Maryland, DC, or Virginia estate-tax exposure below the federal threshold
Pre-retirees converting concentrated wealth into tax-efficient lifetime income
Multi-generational families coordinating trusts, gifting, and family-bank structures
The Coordinated Approach
At HNW levels, the value of coordinated planning isn't theoretical — it shows up in real dollars every year, across every one of the disciplines below.
Federal + State + Entity
AMT, NIIT, QBI, surtax brackets, state nonresident filings, entity-level S-corp/PTET elections — modeled together each year.
Federal + State + Trusts
Federal exemption use, Maryland estate + inheritance tax, ILITs, GRATs, SLATs, dynasty trusts, and beneficiary form alignment.
RSUs, ISOs, Public Equity
Diversification plans, charitable timing, exchange funds, direct indexing, 10b5-1 plans, and AMT-aware exercise schedules.
QSBS, Sale Planning
Section 1202 QSBS, F-reorgs, ESOPs, installment sales, and 3-to-5-year pre-sale planning to compress effective tax.
DAFs, CRTs, Foundations
Bunching, donor-advised funds, charitable remainder trusts, private foundations — matched to income spikes and exit events.
Beyond Generation Two
Family-bank structures, investment policy statements for trusts, and education plans that keep heirs prepared, not just funded.
Our Process
30 minutes. We learn the situation and you learn whether coordinated planning fits your complexity.
Tax returns, estate documents, beneficiary forms, entity records, equity-comp agreements, trust documents.
Multi-year tax model, estate map, equity-comp plan, and a prioritized list of moves.
We coordinate with your CPA, attorney, and custodian and re-run the plan each year and after life events.
Free Guide
7 costly financial planning mistakes affluent families make — covering tax planning, estate planning, retirement, asset protection, trusts, business succession, and generational wealth transfer.
Serving the DMV & Nationwide
The Washington-Baltimore corridor has one of the country's densest concentrations of high-net-worth households — federal executives, physicians, defense and tech contractors, attorneys, government affairs professionals, and second-and-third-generation business owners. Maryland's state estate-tax exemption ($5M) and inheritance tax make state-level planning unusually consequential here. DC has its own estate-tax regime; Virginia does not. We coordinate all three.
For clients outside the DMV, we operate virtually with the same planning depth — secure document exchange, video planning meetings, and an annual in-person meeting available in Bowie.
Frequently Asked Questions
Coordinated Disciplines
The Legacy Wealth Brief
Insights on tax planning, estate planning, retirement income, business ownership, and generational wealth.
Schedule a complimentary 30-minute conversation. We'll review what's in place and identify the two or three changes that would matter most.