How they work
The first four expose conflicts of interest before they cost you anything.
How are you paid?
Fee-only, commission, or both. The answer shapes every recommendation that follows.
Where do you stand on annuities?
Not a trick question. A clear position is the point.
What is your account minimum?
It tells you whether you are the client they built the practice for.
Which credentials do you hold?
Which letters, from which body, and still current.
Fit and cadence
The next three tell you whether you’d actually be a fit.
Who do you work with best?
Every good advisor has a type of client they serve better than anyone.
How often does a client hear from you?
Once a year, or when something changes. Both are answers.
Who are you not the right fit for?
The hardest one. An advisor who cannot answer it is not ready.
In their words
The last three make them show their work.
What do you look at first in a new plan?
Where they start says more than any brochure.
Why do you do this work?
In their own words, not a mission statement.
Walk through your planning process, stage by stage.
Written out. What happens, in order, and what you leave each stage knowing.
Why these ten
The first four expose conflicts of interest before they cost you anything. The next three tell you whether you’d actually be a fit, because the right advisor for a $4 million estate is often the wrong one for a $400,000 nest egg. The last three make them show their work. Read how the answers get checked.