Clear Money Guide
What this guide covers
A quick view of the questions and evidence developed below.
Updated July 1, 2026
Compare financial advisor fees in dollars.
Start with the financial planning calculators, run the financial advisor fee calculator, see how much a financial advisor costs, compare advisor fees in dollars, then open fee-only advisor near me, fiduciary advisor near me, or local fee guides before you book an intro call.
We show every choice in dollars — start with Start Here, compare quotes with the financial advisor fee calculator or financial planning calculators, use the financial advisor fee comparison guide, check fee-only financial advisor near me, flat fee financial advisor near me, fee-for-service financial planner near me, or fiduciary financial advisor near me, or browse local fee guides.
Featured tools
Find a fiduciary advisor near you
Start with the local guides showing the clearest current search demand, then widen to the full city hub.
San Mateo
Retirement planning services and consultation costs.
Open guideSouth Bay
Silicon Valley retirement planner routes.
Open hubNorth Seattle
North Sound and Lake Washington routes.
Open hubAustin Metro
Austin fee-only planner and suburb routes.
Open hubEast Bay
Alameda, Berkeley, Lamorinda, and Tri-Valley.
Open hubDenver
Fee-only planner and retirement planning costs.
Open guideWestern New York
Clarence, Williamsville, Amherst, and Buffalo.
Open hubLocations Hub
State, metro, county, and city fee routes.
Open allDo these first
Popular guides
Portfolio-size fee routes
Compare the same advisor fee at common portfolio balances before you book a call.
Estate planning, priced and by state
The other half of this site. Five documents, one process, four taxes — each governed by state law, each with the statute cited and the date it was read.
What to do next
Editorial standards: see our Editorial Policy and Corrections.
Start with a number, not an article
Compute it before anyone pitches you: home-sale capital gains & the §121 exclusion · executor fees in the 8 statutory states · surrendering a life insurance policy · self-insuring long-term care · when to claim Social Security · 529-to-Roth rollovers · what a 1% advisor fee costs.
Reference data, statute-cited and free to reuse: probate cost in every state · the verified TOD-deed state table · retirement taxes in all 50 states · US financial advisor statistics. Or browse every guide on the site and every calculator.
Every topic on this site, and where to start in each.
- Switching financial advisors: Leaving, firing, or being handed a new adviser – and what it costs. — How to Fire a Financial Advisor (You Can Skip the Conversation Entirely), What It Costs to Switch Financial Advisors: Transfer-Out Fees, and How to Find Yours, What Will Not Transfer In Kind When You Leave Your Advisor
- Vetting a financial advisor: The twenty-minute background check, and what the record actually means. — Financial Advisor Background Check: How to Read BrokerCheck, IAPD and CRD Disclosures, Financial Advisor Red Flags: 12 Warning Signs and the Check That Confirms Each, Is My Financial Advisor a Fiduciary? A 5-Minute Verification (Do Not Just Ask)
- Do you need an advisor at your balance?: The service-tier ladder, and the measured cost at each rung. — Is $250,000 Enough to Hire a Financial Advisor?, You Have $1 Million. Do You Actually Need a Financial Advisor?, Retiring With $500k: Do You Need a Financial Advisor or Just a Plan?
- Is an advisor worth it?: Break-even by situation, and whether your current fee is high. — Am I Paying Too Much in Advisor Fees? Compare Yours to Real Form ADV Disclosures, Financial Advisor vs Doing It Yourself: Break-Even by Decision, Not by Vibes, Advice-Only Is Not Fee-Only: The Difference, and Who Each Fits
- Roth conversions: When to convert, what it sets off, and whether your state taxes it. — Roth Conversion Taxes in 2026: What a $100,000 Conversion Actually Costs (Federal + State + Medicare), Will a Roth Conversion Raise Your Medicare Premiums? The 2026 IRMAA Cliffs — and the Two-Year Lag, 72(t) or a Roth Conversion Ladder? (2026)
- Retirement withdrawals: Which account to draw from, RMDs, and getting money out before 59 and a half. — Retirement Withdrawal Order Calculator (This Year), The ‘Taxable First’ Rule Is Not Always Right, The Three SEPP Calculation Methods (2026)
- Social Security timing: What delaying buys, what it does not, and how benefits are taxed. — Social Security Claiming Age Calculator (62 to 70), Claiming Social Security at 62 vs 70, The Earnings Test Withholds. It Does Not Confiscate.
- Equity compensation: RSUs, ISOs, ESPP and pre-IPO stock, in the order the deadlines arrive. — Can You File an 83(b) Election on RSUs? (2026), The ISO $100,000 Limit, Explained (2026), What to Do With a Concentrated Stock Position (2026)
- Inherited IRA rules: The ten-year clock, who is exempt, and when annual RMDs also apply. — Who Is an Eligible Designated Beneficiary? (2026), Inherited 401(k) vs Inherited IRA (2026), Disclaiming an Inherited IRA: The 9-Month Window (2026)
- Settling an estate: Deadlines after a death, what it costs, and the executor’s personal risk. — Deadlines After a Death: The Calculator Every Executor Needs, The Creditor Claim Window: Why Executors Who Pay Early Pay Personally, Buying Out Siblings on an Inherited House: The Three Tax Rules Articles Get Wrong
- Trusts: Whether a living trust is worth it in your state, and how trust income is taxed. — Distributing More Than DNI Buys You Nothing, Grantor or Non-Grantor: Who Actually Pays the Tax, The 65-Day Rule Has Two Deadlines, Not One
- Probate cost by state: What probate actually costs where you live, from published fee schedules. — Probate Cost Calculator (2026): What Probate Actually Costs, by State, Probate Cost Statistics (2026): Filing Fees, Statutory Percentages & Small-Estate Limits
- Transfer-on-death deeds: Which states allow a TOD deed for real property, and the limits. — TOD Deed vs Adding Your Child to the Deed: One Is a Gift
- Medicaid and your house: What a state may recover after Medicaid pays for care, and the exemptions. — The Medicaid Caregiver-Child Exemption: Two Years, Real Care, and Paperwork That Holds
- Long-term care planning: Insure, self-fund, or something between – and what waiting costs. — How Much Does Long-Term Care Insurance Cost? 2026 Premiums by Age, Self-Insure vs Long-Term Care Insurance: Breakeven Calculator
- Pension and annuity decisions: Lump sum or income, the survivor option, and getting out of a contract. — Your Employer Offered a Pension Buyout: the Six Questions That Decide It, Single Life or Joint and Survivor: You Are Buying Insurance on the Second Death
- When a spouse dies: Filing status, what steps up in basis, and the deadlines that follow. — The Year of Death Is the Last Year You File Jointly, Your IRA Never Gets a Step-Up. In Any State.
- Home sale taxes: The exclusion, the exceptions, and what you actually owe. — Home Sale Capital Gains Exclusion Calculator (Section 121), Selling a House Before 2 Years: What the Gain Actually Costs
- IRMAA: The Medicare surcharge a single dollar can trigger, and the two-year lookback. — IRMAA Is a Cliff. One Dollar Moves a Whole Bracket., IRMAA Uses a Two-Year-Old Return. Usually.
- Business owners: Choosing a plan, and what happens to the tax bill when you sell. — The Seven Asset Classes and Who Wins Each One, The Controlled Group Trap (It Kills the SEP Too)
- Life insurance decisions: Surrender, sell, exchange or keep – and how each is taxed. — Should You Surrender a Whole Life Policy? Check the Four Doors First, Life Settlement vs Surrender: Which Pays More, and the Tax Nobody Explains
- Charitable giving: AGI limits by what you give, the 2026 floor, and QCDs. — QCDs Start at 70½. RMDs Start at 73., 60% Is Cash Only. Appreciated Stock Is Capped at 30%.
- Divorce and your money: QDROs, basis, and why December 31 decides your filing year. — The Four Things a QDRO Must Say or the Plan Rejects It, Your IRA Cannot Be Split by QDRO
- Retirement taxes and moving states: What each state taxes in retirement, and what a move actually saves. — Retirement Tax Comparison Tool (2026): Compare Any Two States
- Advisor statistics by state: How many advisers there are, and where.
- Research: our five datasets: Original, statute-verified data, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0.
- All calculators: Every calculator on the site, in one index.