Welcome to Flames
The Future of Financial Planning
Flat-fee | Fee-only | Fiduciary.
Built for people who want:
- Investments, taxes, retirement, and estate decisions connected.
- One clear quarterly membership price instead of a percentage-of-assets fee.
- Help making the decisions, then getting them done.
Free discovery session
A simple first conversation about your financial life.
We will talk through what is going on, what you want life to look like, and whether a Flames membership would actually help.
What makes Flames different
Advisor fees should be tied to advice, not the market.
Your fee can rise for reasons unrelated to new planning work.
When the fee is a percentage of investments, market growth or new contributions can increase what you pay.
Your fee is set around the planning work your household needs.
Flames uses a flat quarterly membership price based on planning scope and household complexity.
Flat-fee by design
No automatic fee increase just because your portfolio grew from markets or new savings.
Fee-only fiduciary
No commissions or product sales. Advice is built around the household, not a transaction.
Planning beyond investments
Taxes, estate documents, retirement, cash flow, benefits, and investments are coordinated together.
Investments still matter
Portfolios can still be managed, but investment management is part of the relationship, not the whole relationship.
Memberships
Choose the level of planning that fits the work.
Flames Access
$150 / quarter
$600 annualized · billed quarterly in advance
- Personalized foundational planning for cash flow, savings, debt, benefits, basic insurance needs, education savings, and retirement contributions
- A Flames model portfolio selected for your objectives and risk profile
- Altruist account management, portfolio monitoring, and rebalancing
- Altruist high-yield cash access and a connected dashboard
- One introductory planning meeting, then covered support by email or approved secure messaging
Best fitHouseholds that want personalized foundational guidance and professionally managed investments without comprehensive tax or estate planning.
Flames Planning
$900 / quarter
$3,600 annualized · billed quarterly in advance
- Everything in Flames Access
- A dedicated Flames advisor supported by the planning team and an ongoing comprehensive plan for straightforward households
- Proactive tax guidance and planning-focused review of one completed personal return; no preparation or filing
- Day-one Wealth.com access for standard will-based or revocable-trust-based estate documents
- Planning conversations arranged around priorities, with ongoing dashboard and plan updates
Best fitProfessionals and families with generally straightforward financial lives who want investments, taxes, estate documents, and changing decisions coordinated.
Flames Premier
$1,650 / quarter
$6,600 annualized · billed quarterly in advance
- Everything in Flames Planning
- Advanced planning and implementation led by your dedicated Flames advisor, supported by the planning team
- Eligible individual federal and required state tax-return preparation through the designated independent tax partner
- Advanced retirement-income, Roth-conversion, capital-gain, and withdrawal planning
- Business-owner, equity-compensation, concentrated-position, charitable, estate, and professional coordination
Best fitHigh-income, high-asset, retiring, or complex households that need advanced planning and implementation.
Common questions
The direct answers people usually want before booking.
These are the practical details around custodians, taxes, estate documents, investment management, and who does what behind the scenes.
Where are Flames-managed investment accounts held?
Supported investment accounts are held through Altruist, the independent custodian and platform used for Flames-managed portfolios. Flames FP can consider outside accounts in the planning process but cannot directly trade, rebalance, or manage assets that remain outside Altruist.
Which membership includes tax return preparation and filing?
Only Flames Premier includes eligible individual tax-return preparation and filing. A client must join Premier by September 30 of the applicable tax year and remain active through preparation and filing. The included scope is one federal individual return and all required state individual returns, including K-1s, Schedule C or E, rental properties, equity compensation, and cryptocurrency reporting within that individual return. If spouses file separately, one federal return is included and the second is separate. Business, trust, estate, gift, amended, and prior-year returns are excluded, as are tax-notice or audit representation, bookkeeping, and records cleanup.
Who signs my tax return?
Flames' designated independent tax partner, currently Fifteenth, prepares and signs an eligible Premier return under a separate tax engagement. Flames FP coordinates planning strategy but does not prepare or sign the return.
How many CPAs or Enrolled Agents are on staff?
There are currently no CPAs or Enrolled Agents on staff at Flames Financial Planning. Planning includes proactive tax guidance and review of one completed personal return, but not preparation or filing. Premier coordinates eligible individual tax preparation through the designated independent tax partner.
Are there attorneys on staff, and who drafts the trust and will?
There are currently no attorneys on staff at Flames Financial Planning. Planning and Premier members receive day-one access to Wealth.com, a client-directed estate-document platform supporting standard will-based and revocable-trust-based plans for both spouses or partners in the household. Flames FP facilitates the process and incorporates planning inputs but does not provide legal advice or draft legal documents. Individualized attorney advice is separate.
What is included in investment management?
Supported investment accounts are held through Altruist. Access, Planning, and Premier include a professionally designed Flames model portfolio selected for the client's objectives and risk profile, along with monitoring, rebalancing, and account support. The Flames membership carries no additional AUM advisory fee, although fund and applicable provider fees remain separate.
Do clients still have access to their accounts?
Yes. Clients have access through Altruist's desktop and mobile platforms to view accounts, monitor performance, access documents, and withdraw available cash when needed.
Is Flames FP a good fit if I only want a one-time answer?
Flames FP is usually not the best fit for someone who only wants a single transactional answer. The membership is designed for households that want coordinated decision-making across investments, taxes, estate planning, retirement, cash flow, and major life changes.
Keep learning from Joel
Turn the video rabbit hole into a clearer next step.
The YouTube page is here for booking a discovery session. If you want more education first, use the video library, written guides, or free dashboard to organize the questions behind what you just watched.
Watch by topic
Browse videos about advisor fees, taxes, investing, retirement, estate planning, insurance, and high-income household decisions.
Read the deeper guide
Use the written financial planning guides when you want direct answers, examples, FAQs, and links to related planning topics.
Organize your numbers
Start with the free dashboard if the video raised questions about net worth, cash flow, goals, debt, insurance, or estate documents.
Schedule your free discovery session
Let’s talk through what’s actually on your plate.
Pick a time below. We will sort through the questions that brought you here, identify what needs attention first, and see whether a flat-fee Flames membership is the right fit.
What we will sort out together.
You do not need everything organized before booking. Bring the financial question that made you pause.
- What needs attention first. Taxes, investments, retirement, equity comp, estate documents, cash flow, or getting organized.
- Whether a Flames membership fits. We will connect the moving parts and talk through the right level of planning support.
- What happens after the call. If it is a fit, getting started is simple. If not, you should still leave with a clearer direction.
- Activation. If you move forward, we help open accounts, move money, turn ideas into action, and start tracking real progress.