Financial & Estate Planner

Certified Financial & Estate Planner (CFP)

Certification, training, and experience

The central goal of a CFP is to develop a financial plan based on the client’s financial circumstances and objectives.

The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards issues the CFP certification. Certified Financial Planners (CFP) are awarded to financial planners who meet specific professional criteria, experience, and training.

Current CFP requirements include college-level study in financial planning. Requirements also include that all certification applicants possess over 6,000 hours of experience with financial planning or demonstrate completion of at least 4,000 hours through an approved apprenticeship program).

Those seeking certification must also pass the CFP Board exam and keep their certification current by completing a mandatory number of continuing education programs.

A broad range of CFP consulting

While CFP professionals are broadly trained in finance, once certified, they tend to concentrate on one or two areas of financial planning, such as estate and financial planning, including the tax consequences of certain types of estate distribution and gift planning. Other financial areas include divorce financial planning.

A CFP holds a legal fiduciary status

The CFP is also called upon to consult with their clients to analyze, select, and manage their client’s investment portfolios. By law, these professionals must comply with the highest ethical and legal standards and owe their clients a fiduciary duty to make decisions that first and foremost protect their client’s financial interests even if it conflicts with their own.

Cost of certified financial planners

The cost of retaining a CFP varies with the experience, reputation, and credential level of the CFP. Depending on the complexity of the client’s financial needs, the CFP will typically charge $2,000 to $3,000 to establish a plan and then about $3,000 to $3,500 annually, depending on the client’s ongoing needs. Their hourly charge is typically between $200 to-$350 an hour.

The name financial advisor is a generic term that can include a variety of categories. By choosing a CFP, there is security in knowing your advisor is certified and possesses years of experience and training, and most importantly, is held to a fiduciary standard.

In addition, you can check on a particular CFP’s certification status and find out whether the person has any disciplinary record.

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