When Your Own Skills Aren’t Enough: Psyche, Hearth and Children

Christine Moriarty agrees. She often sits down with her high-net-worth clients' CPA and estate planner. "We look at all the pieces. That's the way we come up with the best plan for the client—not just the best tax plan or legal plan or financial plan," she explains.

In such a collaboration, the different knowledge and skills of financial advisors, CPAs and legal advisors make this a powerful triumvirate. It's unlikely that any important details will be overlooked in protecting the client's interest and planning for the future.

Home Building and Renovation

Few developments can stress a couple's otherwise healthy relationship—and financial resources—more than building a house. If you know a few architects who are not just talented but cost-sensitive and collaboratively minded, your clients' sanity and bankbook may benefit.

"First of all, the client needs to have a budget," Salo Levinas, principal of Shinberg & Levinas, an architectural firm in Bethesda, Md., told me emphatically. "That's what a planner can help them come up with."

Once the budget is determined, an experienced architect knows how big the project can be and can develop a schematic design. Levinas explains, "We have a residential contractor tell us whether the numbers are OK or not. Then we can continue developing the drawings. Nobody has any surprises."

But the financial planner's role isn't over. "We can do more realistic architectural planning with people who are savvy in finance," according to Levinas. Meeting with the client, the architect and an estimator, a planner can help explore different payment options. "The first thing I need to know is how much money I am going to spend," Levinas adds. "Maybe the client can't afford two stories […]. Having clarity up front about how much they can afford will avoid a lot of frustration and misunderstanding for everyone involved."

Planning for a Special Needs Child

Generally, parents of a special needs child will have sought specialized help before turning to you. But a client who is suddenly and unexpectedly responsible for such a child may come to you overwhelmed by the challenges of care.

Joe Gorin, Psy.D., a neuropsychologist in Washington, D.C., with extensive experience in working with special needs children, told me it could be useful for an advisor to refer clients to a pediatric neuropsychologist, who can diagnose the child's mental or emotional disability and steer them to appropriate services, or to an educational consultant, who will be able to recommend schools, services and legal support if needed.

Having helped your client get the information they need, you are likely to find they return to you in a calmer frame of mind, with a better grip on the funding needed for the child's support. At some point, you will probably want to collaborate with an attorney experienced in special needs trusts.

Keys to Collaboration

Creative collaborations don't necessarily entail everyone meeting together. In some cases, it makes more sense for you and the experts you're partnering with to work sequentially with a client. What's important is for the collaborating professionals to respect each other's perspectives and expertise, communicate with one another and have a shared vision (or at least visions that do not conflict) about what is in the client's best interest.

Clearly, Christine Moriarty, Barry Kohler, Joe Gorin and Salo Levinas care about making sure their clients' needs and goals are heard and respected. These four professionals underline the importance of finding people to collaborate with whom you like and trust, who do excellent work, and whose integrity and dedication to their clients is beyond question.

When these qualifications are present and no one is invested in being "the smartest person at the table," a collaboration can help your clients feel better understood and more deeply supported during some of the most trying times of their life.