Our Services
Comprehensive, Purpose-Driven Financial Planning
Because your financial life is more than one account, one goal, or one strategy — it’s an integrated whole that deserves a comprehensive approach.
Introduction
Philanthropy financial planning integrates charitable giving into your overall financial life. It is not separate from retirement, estate, or tax planning — it is part of one comprehensive strategy. We serve as your planning coordinator, working alongside your attorney, CPA, and other professionals to help implement the right solutions for your situation.
Strategic Charitable Planning
For families who wish to integrate generosity into their financial lives, we design giving strategies that are sustainable, tax-efficient, and aligned with your values. Charitable planning is not separate from your financial plan — it is part of it.
ServiceDonor-Advised Fund Strategy
Contribute appreciated assets, receive an immediate tax deduction, and recommend grants to charities over time — on your own schedule. We help you establish and manage donor-advised funds as a flexible, accessible giving vehicle.
ServiceQualified Charitable Distributions
For individuals over age 70½, direct required minimum distributions from retirement accounts to charity, reducing taxable income while supporting the organizations that matter to you.
ServiceCharitable Trusts
Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs) and Charitable Lead Trusts (CLTs) provide income streams, reduce estate taxes, and support the causes you care about. We help you evaluate which trust structure — working with your attorney — aligns with your goals, whether you want income now with a gift later, or want to give now and transfer remainder assets to heirs.
ServiceAppreciated Asset Gifting
Donate appreciated assets such as stocks, real estate, or business interests to support causes you believe in which may reduce or eliminate capital gains tax depending on your circumstances.
Why This Matters
Relatively fewer advisors in the for-profit world focus deeply on charitable and legacy planning — and AUM-driven models may offer limited incentive to guide clients toward giving that reduces investable assets. Meanwhile, nonprofits tend to focus fundraising toward their own organizational goals, though some larger institutions do employ in-house professionals to assist donors. As a practice built on the principle of purposeful giving, we actively help you channel resources to the causes and communities you care about — because your impact matters as much as your portfolio size.
Family Legacy & Values Planning
The most enduring legacies are built not only by transferring assets, but by transferring values. We help families have the conversations that matter most — about purpose, responsibility, and stewardship.
ServiceIntergenerational Wealth Conversations
We facilitate structured family discussions about financial values, expectations, and goals to help reduce misunderstandings, reduce conflict, and align generations around a shared vision.
ServiceFamily Giving Frameworks
Design philanthropic frameworks that involve multiple generations — including family giving circles, joint donor-advised fund strategies, and collaborative grant-making.
ServiceNext-Generation Financial Education
Support parents and grandparents in preparing the next generation for financial stewardship — not just inheritance.
ServiceGovernance and Decision-Making Structures
Establish governance structures that bring clarity and fairness to how financial decisions are made across generations.
Why This Matters
Families often focus on transferring assets. Enduring legacies are built by transferring values. When families align their financial structures with shared purpose, wealth becomes a source of unity.
Ready to Start Planning?
Schedule a confidential consultation to explore how our services can support your goals.
Integrated Financial Planning
Financial planning should address your whole life — not just one piece of it. We bring together all dimensions of your financial picture into a single, coherent strategy.
ServiceRetirement Planning
Develop a retirement income strategy considering Social Security optimization, tax-efficient withdrawal sequencing, healthcare cost projections, and the lifestyle you envision.
ServiceCash-Flow and Investment Alignment
Analyze income, spending, savings, and investment holdings to ensure alignment with your goals and risk tolerance.
ServiceEquity Compensation Tax Planning
For professionals receiving ISOs, NQSOs, or RSUs, we provide focused guidance on exercise timing, holding periods, and integration with your broader financial plan.
ServiceInsurance Planning
Review life, disability, long-term care, and liability coverage to ensure your family is protected against risks that could undermine years of careful planning.
ServiceEducation Planning
Evaluate 529 plans, education savings strategies, and tax considerations involved in funding educational goals.
ServiceRisk Management
Identify and mitigate financial risks — from market volatility to unexpected life events — building a resilient and adaptable financial structure.
Why This Matters
Our role is your trusted planning partner, identifying concerns, researching resources, and connecting you with the right professionals.
Cross-Border & Global Family Planning
For families whose lives span more than one country, financial planning takes on additional complexity. With a career spanning across Hong Kong and the U.S., and expatriate living experience in Beijing and Shanghai as a US citizen, Alison brings firsthand understanding in helping expatriate, immigrant, and multinational families navigate different tax systems, legal frameworks, and cultural expectations.
ServiceMulti-Jurisdiction Tax Planning
Coordinate tax obligations across countries, including foreign account reporting, international tax treaties, and strategies to prevent double taxation.
ServiceExpatriate & Immigration Financial Planning
Understand the tax and planning implications of residency and citizenship status across countries.
ServiceNon-Citizen Spouse Trusts
Families with non-U.S.-citizen spouses face special estate tax challenges — the unlimited marital deduction doesn't apply. We work with your legal counsel to help structure Qualified Domestic Trusts (QDOTs) and other planning vehicles to protect your family and minimize tax exposure across borders.
ServiceValues-Based Cross-Cultural Planning
Honor different cultural values around money, family obligation, and intergenerational support, ensuring your plan reflects who you are.
Why This Matters
Global families deserve financial guidance as comprehensive as their lives. When your plan accounts for full cross-border complexity, you gain clarity and protect the wealth you have built.
Trust & Estate Strategy
Trust and estate planning is about ensuring the wealth you have built is protected, transferred efficiently, and used in alignment with your values — during your lifetime and beyond.
ServiceSpecial Needs Trusts
For families with members who have disabilities, a Special Needs Trust preserves their eligibility for government benefits while providing supplemental support for quality of life. We work alongside your attorney to help coordinate these trusts so your loved one is cared for — during your lifetime and beyond.
ServiceTax-Efficient Wealth Transfers
Evaluate strategies including annual gifting, irrevocable life insurance trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, and other tools to reduce estate and gift tax exposure.
ServiceEstate Planning for Complex Families
Blended families, second marriages, and multi-generational households require careful estate design to balance competing interests and honor your wishes. We coordinate with your legal team to help evaluate structures — from QTIP trusts to family limited partnerships — that protect every family member's interests.
ServicePre-Marital Financial Planning
Help couples align financial and life goals before marriage — addressing debts, family obligations, attitudes toward money, and long-term expectations.
ServiceBusiness Succession and Entity Planning
Navigate tax implications of business structure, ownership transitions, and eventual sale, integrated with personal financial and estate strategy.
ServiceReal Estate and Property Planning
Address capital gains, 1031 exchanges, and the role of property within your estate plan.
Why This Matters
The financial industry's focus on growing assets under management means that relatively complicated trust planning — which may not generate investment management fees — often receives less attention. We believe trust and estate strategy is essential to comprehensive planning, and we're committed to helping every family find the right structures, regardless of whether it grows our own revenue.
Our Process
Comprehensive planning built on trust, clarity, and collaboration.
1
Clarify Values
We begin by understanding what matters most — your goals, concerns, hopes, and the values you want your financial life to reflect.
2
Assess Your Complete Picture
Comprehensive review of income, assets, liabilities, tax considerations, insurance, estate documents, and cross-border or equity compensation complexity.
3
Align Financial Strategy
Design a coordinated strategy connecting all dimensions of your financial life into a single, coherent plan.
4
Build an Actionable Plan
Deliver clear, prioritized recommendations and implementation steps tailored to your unique circumstances.
5
Strengthen the Next Generation
Support conversations that prepare heirs for stewardship, not just inheritance.
6
Ongoing Partnership
Life changes. Markets shift. Laws evolve. We meet regularly to review, adjust, and ensure your plan continues to reflect your current goals and circumstances. We remain your dedicated planning partner through every stage.
Fee-Only Fiduciary
We Never Receive Commissions. Ever.
Philanthropy Financial Planning is a fee-ONLY advisory practice registered with the SEC.
We receive no commissions, rebates, or product-based compensation.
Our fiduciary duty requires us to act in our clients' best interest and to provide advice based on their individual circumstances.
Your CFP® Fiduciary Partner
As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner, Alison provides fiduciary guidance, comprehensive planning, tax-aware strategies, objective advice, and a long-term partnership. Our work centers on helping clients steward wealth responsibly and intentionally.
Let’s Build Something That Lasts
Whether you are beginning to think about charitable giving or developing a multigenerational legacy strategy, we welcome the opportunity to support your planning.