FAQs

A Certified Financial Planner, or CFP, has met the highest standard of training and ethics in the financial planning industry, and only about 1 in 4 U.S. advisors hold it. Every advisor at Hyland Wealth Management is a CFP. That means a bachelor's degree, specialized coursework, a six-hour exam, at least three years of hands-on experience, and ongoing education just to keep the title. When you work with us, you're working with someone held to that bar, not just someone with a sales license.

Yes. Hyland Wealth Management is a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) registered in the state of Ohio. That designation comes with real accountability, RIAs are required by regulation to follow the fiduciary standard, the highest legal duty of care an advisor can owe a client.

We're a fiduciary 100% of the time, not just when it's convenient. That means we're legally required to put your interests ahead of our own, disclose any conflicts of interest upfront, and be completely transparent about how we're paid. A lot of firms use the word "fiduciary" loosely. For us, it's a legal obligation, not a tagline. Read our full fiduciary pledge.

No, never. We're a fee-only firm, which means the only person who ever pays us is you, our client. We don't earn commissions, kickbacks, or referral fees from any product we might recommend, because we don't sell products at all. That's the single biggest thing that separates a fee-only advisor from a traditional broker or insurance-based "advisor.

Yes, absolutely, we work with clients all over the country. While our office is in Green, Ohio, geography has never been what determines whether we're a good fit for someone. We choose clients based on whether we're the right match for their goals, not their zip code.

Whichever works better for you. Most of our clients work with us entirely virtually, through video calls, phone calls, secure document sharing, and a full suite of online planning tools, so there's no need to be local. If you're nearby and prefer meeting in person, our Green, Ohio office is always open to you.

Every dollar we earn comes directly from our clients, with nothing from commissions, product sales, or referral fees. That's what "fee-only" means in practice, and it's why our pricing is fully published rather than something you have to ask about. See our complete fee schedule here.

Your accounts are held at Charles Schwab, one of the largest and most trusted custodians in the country. We never take custody of your assets ourselves. Whether it's a brokerage account, an IRA, a Roth IRA, or a trust account, it sits at Schwab under your name, and we simply manage it on your behalf with your authorization.

Yes, we offer a free 30-minute introductory call with no obligation. It's a chance for you to ask us anything, for us to learn about your situation, and for both sides to see if it's a good fit before any commitment is made. Schedule your call here.

Often, this is exactly the stage where a financial advisor adds the most value, not less. Once your savings reach a certain level, the decisions get more consequential, when to retire, how to draw down accounts without overpaying in taxes, when to take Social Security, how to handle a retirement account from a previous job, and getting any one of them wrong can cost far more than an advisor's fee. We work with people at this stage specifically to make sure years of disciplined saving translate into a plan that actually holds up.

It depends entirely on your spending, other income sources, and when you plan to retire, which is exactly what a Retirement Income Plan is built to answer. Rather than a generic rule of thumb, we build a personalized projection based on your actual expenses, Social Security timing, and any pensions or other income, so you know with real confidence whether your savings support the retirement you want, and what to adjust if they don't yet.

This is one of the most common questions we help people answer, and it's more involved than just withdrawing a set amount each year. We build a Retirement Income Plan that maps out which accounts to draw from and in what order, how to smooth out income so you're not overpaying in taxes in any given year, and how to structure withdrawals so you don't outlive your savings.

The right timing depends on your health, other income, marital status, and how long you expect to need your portfolio to last, and getting it wrong can mean giving up meaningful lifetime income. We run this analysis specifically as part of your retirement income plan rather than leaving it as a guess, since claiming earlier or later than optimal can make a real difference over the course of your retirement.

Leaving it behind is rarely the best move, but rolling it over isn't automatic either, it depends on your specific plan and options. We evaluate your old employer plan against a rollover IRA, factoring in investment options, fees, and how it fits your broader retirement strategy, then handle the rollover process for you if it makes sense.

The order you draw from accounts, and when, has a direct impact on your lifetime tax bill, which is why this is built into your plan rather than handled once a year at tax time. That includes strategies like managing which accounts you withdraw from and when, considering partial Roth conversions in lower-income years, and coordinating withdrawals so you don't get pushed into a higher tax bracket than necessary.

This is one of the most overlooked pieces of early retirement planning, since Medicare eligibility doesn't begin right when you stop working. We help you plan for the coverage gap, whether that's marketplace insurance, COBRA, or another option, and factor the cost into your retirement income plan so there are no surprises.

We work with clients across a range of asset levels, including many who are at the exact point where a plan matters most after years of consistent saving. Rather than a hard asset minimum, we look at whether we're a good fit for your goals and situation. The best way to find out is a free introductory call.