> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.raincrossgazette.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Your Advisor, CPA and Attorney Each Have a Plan. Who Has the Plan? - URL: https://www.raincrossgazette.com/your-advisor-cpa-and-attorney-each-have-a-plan-who-has-the-plan/ - Published: 2026-08-20T11:59:54.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-20T11:59:53.000Z - Description: Inside TriCord Advisors' Planning 360 approach — and why 500 Riverside households trust a process that starts with their lives, not their portfolios. - Author: Sponsored Story - Tags: Sponsored Most Riverside families have done the responsible thing. They have a retirement account, likely overseen by a financial advisor. They have a CPA who handles taxes every spring. They may have an attorney who drafted a trust years ago. Maybe an insurance agent, too. Each professional is doing solid work. The problem is that none of them are talking to each other. The investment advisor recommends one strategy. The CPA has a different view. The estate plan was drafted five years ago and no longer reflects the family's actual situation. A business decision made last quarter has tax consequences nobody flagged. The advice is good in pieces. It is a problem TriCord Advisors, the Riverside-based financial planning and legal services firm on Magnolia Avenue, was built to solve. "Clients would receive excellent advice from different professionals, but no one was connecting the dots," said Laura Lee, the firm's president and a Certified Financial Planner®. "An investment decision affected taxes. Estate plans impacted family wealth. Business decisions influenced retirement. Everything was interconnected, yet advice was often delivered in isolation." Their answer is Planning 360 — a process that puts every dimension of a client's financial life into one coordinated strategy, under one roof, with financial planners and attorneys working from the same blueprint. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b3/b2/b3b29e3b-298e-485f-86ca-3034c21e3784/content/images/2026/08/1-2.png) ### The Person. The Plan. The Partnership. TriCord's approach rests on a three-word framework: Person. Plan. Partnership. **Person** means the first meeting is not about numbers. "We want to understand what has brought someone to us, what they're hoping to accomplish, and where they feel uncertainty," said Jeremiah Lee, TriCord's CEO and also a Certified Financial Planner®. "We discuss family, business, retirement dreams, concerns, values, and what success looks like. Only after understanding the person do we begin gathering financial information." That first conversation — what TriCord calls Vision Setting — is, by the firm's account, its most important meeting. Their questions go well past risk tolerance and asset allocation: *What does an ideal retirement look like? What kind of legacy do you hope to leave? What concerns keep you awake at night? If we were sitting here 10 years from now, what would have to happen for you to feel this partnership was a tremendous success?* "We're listening for far more than financial goals," Laura Lee said. "We're trying to understand what gives their life meaning." **Plan** is where Planning 360 takes shape. Once the vision is established, TriCord's planning team builds what they call a comprehensive roadmap spanning nine areas: investment strategy, tax planning, retirement income, estate planning, insurance, business succession, charitable giving, cash flow and risk management. The recommendations are presented as one coordinated strategy with priorities and an implementation timeline. Most financial advisory firms refer clients out for legal work. TriCord houses both financial planning and legal services under the same roof, which means trust updates, beneficiary designations, business succession plans and estate strategies are built alongside — not apart from — the financial plan. "Instead of advisors working in separate silos, everyone is working from the same blueprint," Jeremiah Lee said. **Partnership** reflects a core TriCord conviction: financial planning is not a one-time event. It is an ongoing relationship. "Early on, we thought our greatest value was only providing great financial advice," said Laura and Jeremiah Lee, who lead the firm together. "Today, we believe our greatest value is helping people make confident decisions throughout their lives. Markets change. Tax laws change. Families change. Our role isn't simply to manage investments. It's to serve as a trusted thought partner through every major financial decision our clients encounter." TriCord serves approximately 500 households. Many of those relationships span decades — often extending across generations as children become adults and parents become grandparents. ### When the Dots Connect There is a recurring moment in the Planning 360 process — the point where a client sees everything together for the first time and the weight of fragmented advice lifts. "They realize retirement isn't just about investments. Taxes affect retirement. Estate planning affects taxes. Business decisions affect retirement. Insurance affects estate planning," Laura Lee said. "For many clients it's the first time someone has shown them how all of these decisions work together toward one purpose." In practice, that consolidation often surfaces surprises. TriCord's planners say they frequently uncover tax opportunities, outdated beneficiary designations, unnecessary risk or estate planning gaps that have existed for years — simply because no one had ever looked at everything together. Consider one example: a business owner approaching retirement who had accumulated considerable assets but whose investments, estate documents, taxes and succession planning had all been handled by separate professionals. Through Planning 360, TriCord developed one coordinated strategy that addressed taxes, prepared the business transition, updated the estate plan and improved retirement income projections. "The greatest outcome wasn't simply financial," Jeremiah Lee said. "It was peace of mind." ### Neighbors, Not Account Numbers TriCord's leadership has roots in Riverside dating to the early 1980s, and the firm has operated from the same Magnolia Avenue location ever since. Today the team's community involvement extends across organizations including Path of Life Ministries, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Blue Zones, local schools and other Riverside nonprofits. When asked what Riverside families need that a national firm or online platform cannot provide, the answer came back as a single word: relationships. "Technology has made financial information widely available. But wisdom still comes through trusted relationships," Jeremiah Lee said. "Being rooted in Riverside means we understand the people, businesses, families, and professionals that make up this community. We aren't simply managing accounts — we're helping neighbors make some of the biggest decisions of their lives." That local rootedness shapes the work itself. The firm regularly coordinates with Riverside-area CPAs, insurance professionals, bankers, business consultants and other specialists — an ecosystem of local professionals working in concert rather than in isolation. It is the Planning 360 philosophy extended beyond the firm's walls. And the complexity Riverside families face has grown. Higher home values, more concentrated stock positions, business exits, longer retirements and rapidly changing tax laws have all reshaped the landscape in the past decade. "People don't necessarily need more information," Laura Lee said. "They need clarity understanding what applies to their specific situation." ### Don't Wait for the Crisis The hardest conversations at TriCord are rarely about investments. They are about life — helping someone prepare after losing a spouse, guiding families through long-term care decisions, walking business owners through the transition away from the company they have built. Those conversations require empathy as much as technical expertise. It is a reality that shapes TriCord's message to families who have been thinking about working with a financial advisor but have not taken the step. "Don't wait until there's a crisis," the Lees said. "The best financial planning happens before major decisions need to be made. Whether you're preparing for retirement, selling a business, navigating a family transition, or simply looking for greater clarity, having a trusted partner who knows your story can make all the difference." As for the simplest version of TriCord's philosophy — the one thing they would tell every Riverside family about how to think about their money — the Lees put it plainly: "Don't confuse investing with financial planning. Investments are important, but they're only one part of a much bigger picture. Start with your life, then build a financial strategy that supports it." **More information:* TriCord Advisors is located at 6772 Magnolia Ave., Riverside. The firm offers holistic financial planning, investment management, tax planning, retirement planning, and estate and legal services. The Building Wealthy Habits podcast airs Saturdays at 9 a.m. on AM 590 The Answer and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube. For more information or to book an initial appointment, visit* [*tricordadvisors.com*](http://tricordadvisors.com/?ref=raincrossgazette.com)*.*