Sudden Wealth Planning Checklist
Use this checklist to slow down the planning process, gather the right documents, and make sure the advisor conversation starts with the decisions that matter most.
Checklist
- Pause major purchases, gifts, and investments until tax reserves and cash safety are clear.
- Place funds in boring, liquid accounts while the advisory team models the plan.
- List every claim on the money: taxes, debt, family support, housing, charity, lifestyle, and investing.
- Create a family-request policy before the first exception becomes the precedent.
- Update estate documents, insurance, beneficiaries, and asset protection where appropriate.
- Turn the windfall into a written income and investment policy before taking portfolio risk.
What to bring to an advisor
Bring the documents, numbers, deadlines, and unanswered questions that define the planning problem. The best first meeting is not a product conversation. It is a decision map that shows what must happen now, what can wait, and which professionals need to coordinate.
Numbers
Estimated value, basis, debts, taxes, income needs, cash reserves, and any transaction-specific deadlines.
Documents
Tax returns, statements, agreements, letters of intent, entity documents, trust documents, and professional contact information.
Priorities
Privacy, family, lifestyle, charitable, estate, income, and risk preferences that should shape the plan.
Questions
Anything that feels irreversible, unclear, or too expensive to answer after the fact.
Get matched with a specialist financial advisor
Tell us where you are in the process. We will match you with a fee-only advisor who understands this planning problem and can coordinate with your tax and legal professionals.