Services

The experience to guide you through life’s financial challenges.

We all face tough financial decisions at every stage of life – from changing jobs or moving toward retirement, to getting married or contemplating divorce. That’s why it makes sense to partner with our team. We’ll help you navigate through whatever life brings. So you can make the best decisions for your family—and breathe a little easier.

Here’s where we can help:

  • IRA Distribution Planning
  • Retirement Planning
  • Divorce Financial Planning
  • Social Security Strategies
  • Estate Planning
  • Wealth Management Services

IRA Distribution Planning

IRA distribution regulations are complex—and growing more so every year. Without professional guidance, it’s easy to make a mistake, like missing your first minimum distribution or not paying attention to who should inherit your IRA.

Common IRA errors can have adverse tax consequences. If you’d rather avoid that scenario, we can help. Let us assist with IRA Distribution Planning: designating your beneficiary, withdrawing your money in the most efficient way and developing strategies to reduce your tax impact.*

Dick Harsin is not only a Certified Financial Planner, but he’s also a CPA. And, as a member of the exclusive Ed Slott’s Master Elite Advisor Group,** he has access to more information, resources and knowledge than most financial advisors. Twice yearly, Dick meets with Ed Slott (nationally-recognized IRA distribution professional) and other Elites to review changes in IRA rules and the latest IRA distribution strategies.

What does this mean to you? That even in this complex, ever-changing regulation environment we remain focused on taking our clients from “forever taxed” to “never taxed.” And we have the know-how to make it happen. Contact us to find out more.

Retirement Planning

Successful retirement planning starts with setting goals. What do you dream of doing? Sailing around the world? Owning a home in the San Juan Islands? Helping your kids start a business? Or simply making sure your family is well taken care of—and you have peace of mind?

No matter what a happy retirement looks like to you, we can help make it happen. We’ll identify the income and actions needed at each step, from today to retirement day, and through our vigilant investment management, financial forecasting, income and tax strategies and a solid plan, you can achieve your retirement goals.

It’s easy to get started.

Divorce Financial Planning

Going through a divorce is often a highly emotional and difficult process, requiring hundreds of decisions. In addition, financial portfolios and regulations are much more complex these days, making those decisions even more impactful on your future financial status.

Making the wrong move can have serious consequences. For example, dividing a 401(k) or IRA incorrectly can result in taxes on the entire amount. And, jumping into divorce without careful planning could leave you worried about your financial survival.

Divorcing in midlife brings its own financial issues. Instead of child custody, older couples must divide retirement plans, businesses, real estate and other property, as well as debts.

Regardless of your age or financial situation, the first step to take when divorce enters your life is to meet with an advisor on divorce financial planning. Before going further, you’ll want a true accounting of each spouse’s assets, so you can plan for upcoming challenges such as splitting retirement and bank accounts (50/50 is not always fair), selling the family home, managing acquired debts, securing health insurance, setting up alimony and child support, and other important financial moves.

If you’re contemplating divorce or have already started the process, you’ll benefit by partnering with a financial advisor with demonstrated knowledge. If you’re in a divorce proceeding, let us provide an impartial review of your asset allocation before you sign anything.

As a CDFA® Dick Harsin has the personal training and skills to help clients make sound decisions during divorce proceedings, from allocating assets to setting up a financial roadmap for the future.

Contact Dick Harsin for a confidential consultation, and start taking the necessary steps to protect yourself and your future.

Learn about divorce planning workshops for women

Social Security Strategies

Social Security isn’t what it used to be. It’s much more complex, which means that going into retirement without a Social Security strategy can have major consequences for individuals and married couples. In fact, by making the wrong choice about when to take their benefits, retirees can leave thousands of dollars on the table.

Let us help you avoid errors and plan for the best outcome for your situation. We’ll assess whether it makes sense to delay benefits until you reach full retirement age, and how it might affect you if you start receiving benefits earlier.

Taking into account such factors as age and income for you and your spouse, as well as life expectancy and overall health, we can help you get your full benefit and survivor benefit, as well.

Our team can help identify Social Security strategies designed to maximize retirement income. Give us a call at 425-774-9477 to learn more and get started.

Estate Planning

Thinking about passing your estate to your loved ones can be daunting. But planning ahead provides huge benefits—not the least of which is peace of mind. Let us help you review your assets, consider your options and develop a plan that will ensure that what you want is what actually happens.

The estate planning process combines sound advice and smart tax strategies, and we work collaboratively with you every step of the way. Let us show you how our big-picture approach and personal attention can benefit you and your loved ones, now and into the future.

Wealth Management Services

Most of us want maximum returns for the least amount of risk. Managing investments while achieving your goals and protecting your wealth is not quite that simple, but we can help you navigate through.

We spend time getting to know you and understanding what’s important to you, so we can create a plan that works for all areas of your financial life: taxes, investments, retirement, estate planning and more. So you can focus on living your life to the fullest.

Our investment strategies are designed to protect against big losses, like we saw after the tech bubble and credit crisis. We share the approach utilized by large university endowments, such as Yale, Harvard and the University of Washington, which includes alternative investments, such as real estate, to improve risk-adjusted returns.

Depending on your needs and objectives, as well as market conditions and available opportunities, we include a variety of tools to implement the strategy, from stocks and bonds, to mutual funds, ETFs and index funds, REITs, annuities and more.

When it comes to wealth management, one size does not fit all. That’s why you need an advisor who’s on your side, helping you move through your life’s major events comfortably and with confidence.

Charitable Organizations

We strongly believe in the good works our community organizations do, and we don’t want to see them struggle to remain solvent. After the 2007 economic crisis and market collapse, numerous charitable organizations faced losses of 40 – 50% of their reserves. These losses, coupled with reduced donations, forced many out of business.

We’ve worked in and with non-profits for many years, and we know the unique challenges they face—from overworked directors to lack of knowledge in financial matters.

Let us help your organization become more sustainable, by developing strong financial strategies that reduce risk, preserve assets and protect reserves—so they’re there when you need them. And so you can continue making the world a better place for as long as it needs your services. Call us at 425-774-9477 to learn more.


* Tax advice provided by Dick Harsin is separate and unrelated to Commonwealth.

** Ed Slott’s Elite IRA Advisor Group is a private IRA study group of professional financial advisors.