Estate planning guidance
Flames FP coordinates the financial side of your estate plan: beneficiaries, account titling, insurance, taxes, and how your documents fit the rest of your plan. Your attorney drafts the legal documents and gives legal advice.
Direct answer
A financial advisor can coordinate the financial side of estate planning, including beneficiaries, account titling, insurance, and taxes, and review them alongside your attorney's documents. An estate planning attorney drafts the legal documents and gives legal advice. Many households use both, because each role covers different parts of the same plan.
Roles compared
The grid describes typical scope, not a ranking. Neither role replaces the other, and any individual professional may do more or less, so confirm scope in writing. Our guide to accountant vs. financial advisor compares the tax side of the same question.
| Task | Financial advisor typically | Estate planning attorney typically | Best fit when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beneficiary designations | Reviews designations on retirement accounts and insurance against the rest of the plan, and coordinates updates with the account custodian | Advises on how designations interact with a will or trust and what they mean legally | You want to confirm designations still match the outcome you intend |
| Account titling and ownership | Lists how each account is titled and flags mismatches with the intended plan | Advises on the legal effect of ownership and on retitling assets, including into a trust | You are unsure whether account registrations and documents agree |
| Drafting wills, trusts, and powers of attorney | Does not draft legal documents. Planning and Premier members can use Wealth.com's client-directed platform, which Flames FP facilitates | Drafts, reviews, and supervises signing of legal documents | You need documents written or reviewed for your situation and state |
| Legal advice for your situation | Does not provide legal advice | Provides legal advice and represents you in legal matters | A question turns on state law, family circumstances, or legal risk |
| Insurance and liquidity review | Reviews coverage amounts and whether cash may be available for debts, taxes, and care costs | Advises on how policy ownership and beneficiary choices fit the legal documents | You want to compare obligations with the resources that could meet them |
| Tax coordination | Models how income, gains, and retirement accounts could interact, and works with your CPA | Advises on legal and tax-law questions in estate and gift matters | A planned gift or account transfer has tax effects to weigh first |
| Investments and retirement accounts | Aligns the portfolio, withdrawals, and account types with the plan | Typically does not manage investments | Your holdings or withdrawal order may affect what family members receive |
| Reviews after life changes | Revisits the financial inputs after a marriage, birth, move, job change, or death | Updates legal documents when circumstances or the law change | A major life event has changed your family or finances |
Typical scope for illustration. Flames FP does not provide legal advice and does not draft legal documents.
What Flames FP covers
Flames FP's Estate Planning Guidance is one part of the services Flames FP offers. Here is what it may include and what it does not.
Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and insurance are reviewed against your intended family and charitable goals. Outdated designations may override what a will says, so they are worth checking after life changes.
How accounts are owned and registered may determine how they pass. Flames FP reviews whether titling matches your plan and flags differences to take to your attorney.
Flames FP reviews the financial effects of your documents against the rest of your plan. Premier adds coordination with your attorney. Planning includes standard facilitation.
Coverage amounts, liquidity, gifting, and charitable intentions are considered together, with trade-offs explained rather than a single answer assumed.
Flames FP does not provide legal advice, draft legal documents, or represent you in court or probate. A qualified attorney does those things, and attorney fees are separate from a Flames membership.
One planning system
Flames FP treats investments, taxes, retirement, estate guidance, and ongoing advice as one system. See how the planning relationship works from first meeting to ongoing updates.
Account types, beneficiaries, and holdings may affect how assets pass and how much tax a beneficiary could face.
Gifts, account transfers, and retirement withdrawals can have tax effects. See tax planning and eligible filing for how Flames FP handles tax work.
Retirement accounts often pass by beneficiary designation, so income plans and estate wishes may need to be read together.
Documents, ownership, and beneficiaries are reviewed so they point in the same direction as the rest of the plan.
Estate decisions are revisited as family, assets, and rules change, not treated as a one-time project.
Wealth.com estate documents
Planning is $900 per quarter and Premier is $1,650 per quarter, with no AUM fee. See the pricing page for current terms.
Planning and Premier members receive day-one access to Wealth.com's client-directed estate-document platform. The household benefit supports both spouses or partners and includes standard will-based and revocable-living-trust-based plans.
Flames facilitates the process and incorporates relevant planning inputs but does not provide legal advice or draft legal documents. Individualized attorney advice and outside legal fees are separate.
Platform access and future document updates end when the membership ends. A client may retain completed documents already downloaded or executed, subject to Wealth.com's terms.
Minnesota context
Minnesota is one of the states with its own estate tax, separate from the federal estate tax. Rules and thresholds change, so confirm current figures with the state and your advisors.
According to the Minnesota Department of Revenue, an estate tax return is required for 2026 deaths when the total gross value of the estate exceeds $3,000,000. The same page lists a qualified small business property or farm property deduction of up to $2,000,000. The figures are as of October 7, 2026.
The Minnesota threshold is lower than the federal minimum filing requirement, which the Department of Revenue lists as $15,000,000 for 2026. A household may owe Minnesota estate tax without owing federal estate tax. Whether it applies depends on the value and makeup of the estate.
Home equity, retirement accounts, life insurance, and company stock may all count toward the total. An estate planning attorney or CPA can advise on how the rules apply to you. Flames FP can help gather and organize the financial figures they may need.
Who this may suit
See who Flames FP helps for the full picture. Fit depends on your circumstances, and many households need only an attorney.
Households with growing assets, young children, or equity compensation may have several accounts and beneficiaries to line up. See financial planning for high-income families.
Retirement accounts, Social Security, Medicare, and legacy goals may need to be coordinated with beneficiaries and documents. See financial planning for pre-retirees.
Flames FP is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, serves local households, and works virtually with clients elsewhere in the United States. See the Minneapolis financial advisor page for local context.
Common questions
A financial advisor can coordinate the financial inputs to an estate plan, such as beneficiary designations, account ownership, insurance, retirement accounts, and taxes. A financial advisor does not draft wills or trusts or give legal advice. Those tasks belong to a qualified estate planning attorney.
Often, yes. An attorney can advise on how documents apply to your situation and under your state's law, and can draft and help you sign them. Flames FP works alongside your attorney by reviewing the financial side of the plan and, in Premier, coordinating with your attorney. Whether you need an attorney depends on your household and the complexity of your plan.
It may include reviewing beneficiary designations and account titling, checking insurance and liquidity needs, coordinating gifting and charitable goals, and reviewing documents against the rest of your financial plan. It does not include legal advice, drafting legal documents, or court or probate representation. Attorney fees are separate.
Planning and Premier members receive day-one access to Wealth.com's client-directed estate-document platform. The household benefit supports both spouses or partners and includes standard will-based and revocable-living-trust-based plans. Flames facilitates the process and incorporates relevant planning inputs but does not provide legal advice or draft legal documents. Platform access and future document updates end when the membership ends. A client may retain completed documents already downloaded or executed, subject to Wealth.com's terms.
Yes. Flames Financial Planning is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota and serves local households as well as clients across the United States through virtual planning. Service availability can depend on each household's circumstances and applicable requirements. Estate and inheritance rules differ by state, so an attorney licensed in your state should advise on the legal side.
Sources and review
Written by Joel Miller, CFP. Last reviewed October 7, 2026.
This page is for educational purposes only and is not legal, tax, or investment advice. Estate laws and tax thresholds change and vary by state, and individual circumstances differ. Flames FP does not provide legal advice or draft legal documents. Consult a qualified attorney and tax professional about your situation.
Next step
Schedule a discovery meeting to discuss your beneficiaries, account ownership, and documents, and whether a flat-fee planning relationship fits your household.
