You don't have to figure this out alone.

Yes. Tilson is an SEC Registered Investment Adviser and acts as a fiduciary for every client. That means we are required to act in your best interest, disclose conflicts, and put your outcome ahead of the firm's. You can review our registration and Form ADV on the SEC's public adviser database.

Fee-only advisors charge a stated fee for planning, investment management, or both, paid by you and disclosed in writing. There are no commissions and no product incentives. Tilson's fee schedule is published in our Form ADV Part 2A, and we walk through it in the first conversation before anyone commits to anything.

In practice the terms overlap. "Financial advisor" is the broad label for anyone who advises on money, including brokers and insurance agents. "Financial planner" usually signals a planning-first approach, and CFP® professionals have met specific education, exam, and ethics standards to use that mark. Ask what the person actually does, how they are paid, and what standard they work under.

Either can work. Many families prefer an advisor nearby so meetings can happen in person and someone local understands the state's tax and estate landscape. Others work with advisors across the country by video. Tilson does both: most of the families we work with are in New Jersey, and a growing number are not. What matters more than distance is whether the advisor is a fiduciary, how they are paid, and whether a person picks up when you call.

The CFP® professional builds and maintains the overall plan. The CPA looks at every decision inside it, from withdrawals and conversions to charitable gifts and a business sale, with the tax return in view. At Tilson both sit on the same advisory team, so the planning and the tax work happen together, year-round, rather than in separate offices at separate times.