01
A simple call
One unhurried phone call. You ask whatever you want, we explain how the firm works, and nobody signs anything that day. No obligation, no pitch.
The survey before the dig
First we survey the ground. Then we build on it.
A plan starts with an honest survey of what is already there. Before a single layer is laid, we map it with you — what you have, what you owe, and what the years ahead will need to carry.
How it starts
Three steps before a single layer is laid.
We do not begin with projections. We begin with questions — enough of them to know what your retirement is supposed to feel like before a single number goes under it.
02
The full picture
We survey everything — income, accounts, taxes, worries — and run the Bedrock System: six layers of plan between you and chance, built in plain English.
03
Built, then reviewed
Your plan is built and tracked in RightCapital, then tested against real life twice a year, every year — so it changes when your life does.
The Bedrock System · six parts · 01–06
A retirement plan, read like the ground it stands on: layer by layer, down to bedrock.
Every retirement question you have lives in one of six layers. Scroll, and we will take you down through each — what it covers, in plain words. The deeper you go, the more permanent it gets.
Stratum 01 · Income & Cash Flow
A paycheck that shows up — without the job attached.
First, the question under all the others: what can we actually spend? We map every dollar coming in — Social Security, pensions, withdrawals — against every dollar going out, and set a monthly income you can plan a life around. You will know your number, and you will know how we got it.
Depth 01 of 06Plain answer: what you can spend
Stratum 02 · Investments
Built for taking money out, not piling it up.
A portfolio for this season of life looks different from the one that got you here. We arrange your savings for steady withdrawal — and everything stays held in your own name at Charles Schwab. We never take custody of your money, and our only compensation is the one transparent planning fee you can see.
Depth 02 of 06Your name. Your accounts. Schwab.
Stratum 03 · Taxes
We plan for lifetime taxes, not just April’s.
Which account to draw from first. When a Roth conversion makes sense, and when it doesn’t. How to keep required distributions from ambushing you at seventy-three. These are small decisions, made early and unhurried, that quietly change what a thirty-year retirement costs.
Depth 03 of 06Decisions made early, quietly
Stratum 04 · Protection
An answer for the two a.m. questions.
What happens to your spouse if you go first — exactly, account by account. What long-term care would actually cost, and how it would be paid without unwinding the rest of the plan. We put real numbers on the things that wake you up, so they can stop doing that.
Depth 04 of 06Numbers on the worries
Stratum 05 · Estate
What you’ve built passes the way you intend.
Beneficiaries, titling, and the paperwork most people put off for a decade. We coordinate with your attorney so the estate plan and the income plan tell the same story — and your family is never left guessing what you wanted.
Depth 05 of 06Coordinated with your attorney
Stratum 06 · The Years Ahead · Bedrock
Reviewed twice a year, every year. That’s the bedrock.
A plan is only as good as its last review. So every six months, we sit down together and test yours against real life — markets, health, family, tax law — and adjust what needs adjusting. Your plan is built and tracked in RightCapital, and explained across a table in plain English. This layer is why the other five hold.
Depth 06 of 06 · Bedrock reachedTwo reviews a year, every year
Below bedrock there is only this
Start with a conversation.
No obligation, no pitch, nothing to prepare. We will talk through where you stand, what enough means in your case, and whether this firm is the right place for your plan. If it is not, we will tell you plainly and name someone who is.
Call the office and a person picks up. Most days, that person is Dan.
Stratton Wealth Management · at a glance
- Structure
- Fee-only fiduciary planning · One transparent fee
- Custody
- Assets held in your own name at Charles Schwab — we never take custody of your money
- Office
- 412 Harborview Road, Suite 200, Traverse City, MI 49684
- Phone
- (231) 555-0147