Women and Wealth: A Pivot Towards Retirement
Tips and strategies for women approaching retirement to ensure a smooth transition.
Palm Beach is a barrier island town separated from West Palm Beach by the Intracoastal, about 25 miles north of our Boca Raton office. The residential map runs from the Estate Section and the streets off Worth Avenue up through the North End, and the wealth concentration here is unlike anywhere else in South Florida. The Census caps its reported median home value at $2 million, which understates what properties actually trade for. About 63.5 percent of residents are over 65, and the median age is 70.4.
The planning that fits this client base looks different from the mainland. Estate work at scale, with trust structures and liquidity planning for potential estate tax obligations. Charitable strategy, since meaningful philanthropy is closer to the norm than the exception here. Residency coordination for families holding homes in more than one state or more than one country. And cash flow planning around high-value residences, where property taxes, insurance renewals, staff, and maintenance form a fixed cost base the portfolio has to cover without forced selling.
Financial Planning for Pre-Retirees
For clients in their 40s, 50s, and early 60s coordinating the Social Security decision, Medicare timing, Roth conversion windows, and the income plan that follows.
See Financial Planning for Pre-Retirees
Financial Planning for Business Owners
For founders and owners. The planning runs from operating the business through eventual transition or sale.
See Financial Planning for Business Owners
Financial Planning for Executives
For C-suite leaders with concentrated equity, deferred compensation, and the planning that comes with senior roles.
See Financial Planning for Executives
Financial Planning for Inheritors
For clients receiving an inheritance, sudden or expected. Help making steady decisions in a moment when steady is hard.
See Financial Planning for Inheritors
Financial Planning for Professional Women
For women in their career-building years working through equity comp, executive comp, and the planning that supports both.
See Financial Planning for Professional Women
Financial Planning for Divorced Women
For women rebuilding financial independence after divorce. Coaching, accountability, and a real plan for what's next.
See Financial Planning for Divorced Women
Financial Planning for Widows
For women facing financial decisions for the first time after the loss of a spouse. Patience and a step-by-step approach.
See Financial Planning for Widows
Palm Beach has a distinct financial profile. The Census caps its median home value at $2M, but properties in the Estate Section, along Worth Avenue, or on the North End regularly trade at multiples of that. 63.5% of residents are over 65 (US Census ACS), which shifts the primary planning focus from accumulation to how the wealth transfers.
The estate attorney owns the legal drafting of trusts and wills; our part is the ongoing coordination of the assets held inside those structures. We review beneficiary designations across every account, model the liquidity needs to settle potential estate tax obligations, and structure the investment portfolio's timeline to match how the estate is set up to distribute.
For families where multi-generational transfer is the primary focus, we also look at strategies like grantor trusts, GRATs, and lifetime gifting against the current lifetime exclusion. Each family situation is different, and the coordination between the investment plan and the estate documents is what makes the strategy actually execute cleanly.
Charitable And Philanthropic Planning
Philanthropy is a defining part of the culture on the island. For many Palm Beach residents, charitable giving is already meaningful; the planning work is around making it efficient.
Two common structures worth considering: donor-advised funds and qualified charitable distributions from IRAs. Donor-advised funds allow bunching multiple years of contributions into a single tax year (useful when income spikes from a business sale or an unusually large capital gains year), while keeping the actual grants to charities on a longer timeline. QCDs from IRAs allow clients age 70½+ to satisfy their required minimum distribution by giving directly to qualified charities, without recognizing the distribution as taxable income.
For clients with highly appreciated stock, gifting the shares directly to a charity (rather than selling and donating cash) is often the more tax-efficient path. Our Enrolled Agent handles the tax coordination so the giving strategy aligns with the broader return.
Owning primary and secondary homes on the island creates a specific cash flow pattern. Property tax bills, insurance premiums, staff, and general maintenance on multi-million dollar residences represent meaningful monthly obligations.
The planning question is where the liquidity for those obligations comes from throughout the year. For clients with heavy real estate positions, the investment portfolio needs to hold enough liquid, income-producing assets that the recurring bills are covered without being forced to sell equity positions at inopportune times.
We build the cash flow model with actual numbers for each residence: annual property taxes, insurance renewals, staff and vendor obligations, and any major planned maintenance. The investment strategy then reflects those actual liquidity requirements, rather than assuming a generic withdrawal rate.
Saving Early & Letting Time Work for You
See how starting early—not saving more—can be the most powerful move you make for your long-term future.
FIRE Retirement
This short, informative article teaches the basics of the FIRE movement.
The Value of Insuring Against Life’s Risks
Building wealth requires protection from the forces of wealth destruction.
Four Steps to Valuing an Estate
Determining the value of your estate, or for someone who has passed away, can be a complex undertaking.
How Boomers and Millennials Differ
The YOLO Economy is a focus on experiences over material possessions, prompting Boomers to consider a similar mindset.
Keep Your Umbrella Handy
Umbrella liability can be a fairly inexpensive way to help shelter current assets and future income from the unexpected.
Do Your Kids Know The Value of a Silver Spoon?
You taught them how to read and how to ride a bike, but have you taught your children how to manage money?
Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs)
Explaining Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs) and their benefit to estate strategy.
Find Us
Our Office
Boca Raton (Home Office)
1200 North Federal Highway, Suite 300
Boca Raton, FL 33432
Monday to Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM ET
Serving South Florida Cities and Neighborhoods
Palm Beach County