Consulting

Ascent Advisors: Comprehensive Consulting for Life, Legacy & Business

Ascent Advisors provides integrated consulting across every major financial and business transition you may face. Our team combines decades of experience working with families, business owners, and multigenerational enterprises to build clarity, reduce complexity, and support confident decision-making.

Whether you're preparing for succession, organizing your estate, optimizing taxes, strengthening your business, or planning for retirement income, we help structure a clear path forward.

Transition & Succession Planning

Secure continuity for the next generation—at work and at home.
We help business owners design thoughtful transition plans that support long-term growth, prepare successors, and give senior leaders confidence in their future role. Our process simplifies what can feel daunting, ensuring every stakeholder understands expectations and the business remains positioned for innovation, profitability, and sustainable leadership.

Retirement Income Strategy

Create reliable, inflation-adjusted income for life.
We design retirement income strategies that balance market-based investments with guaranteed income sources* to support long-term stability. This approach helps answer one of the most important questions in retirement: How do I make my savings last as long as I do?
*Guarantees depend on the issuing insurance company.

Estate Planning Collaboration

Build clarity, reduce conflict, and protect your intentions.
We partner with your attorney and CPA to create a complete estate plan—from basic wills to complex trust structures. Our team helps:

  • Organize and align your assets

  • Navigate sensitive family conversations

  • Clarify how your wishes will be communicated and carried out

Estate planning is valuable at any net worth level and ensures your legacy reflects your priorities.

1031 DST Exchanges for Business & Farm Sales

Optimize major transitions with tax-advantaged planning.
Selling a business or farm often triggers significant tax consequences. We help you evaluate and implement 1031 DST Exchange strategies to defer taxes, preserve equity, and transition into more passive income opportunities.

Tax Planning Strategy

Reduce unnecessary tax burden through proactive design—not last-minute filings.
We work with you to structure finances and investments in ways that minimize taxes over time. Our planning includes:

  • Evaluating pre-tax and after-tax investment choices

  • Assessing how different income types affect long-term taxes

  • Identifying ways to reduce estate erosion and benefit clawbacks

  • Coordinating strategies for generational transfers

Effective tax planning begins early and evolves with your financial goals.

Charitable Planning

Align generosity with tax efficiency.
We design charitable giving strategies that support your values while optimizing tax outcomes. Whether paired with transitions or long-term planning, charitable tools can play a meaningful role in your financial strategy.

How We Work

Ascent Advisors brings together transition planning, tax strategy, estate design, business advisory services, and retirement guidance into a cohesive, client-centered approach. Every plan is tailored, collaborative, and grounded in clear education—so you fully understand your options and can make decisions with confidence.

Business Advisory Services

Guidance to strengthen operations, leadership, and long-term strategy.
With over a century of combined experience working with family businesses, Ascent Advisors provides hands-on coaching to support continuous improvement across all areas of your organization.

Financial Services

Financial statement construction

Cash flow and capital planning

Monthly/quarterly closeout

Proforma and budget analysis

Management & Performance

KPI dashboards

Enterprise and production modeling

Risk management support

Financing package development

Operations & HR

Compensation and performance systems

Internal and external communication planning

Learning and development

Insurance planning

Strategic Thinking & Growth

Market intelligence

Business structure and branding

Long-term tax and estate considerations

Meeting facilitation and collaboration with your advisory team

THE POWER OF ZERO

At Ascent Advisors, we recognize that the accumulation phase of wealth management, while very important, is only a part of responsible retirement planning. The challenge for most retirees is to ensure that their accumulated funds last for their entire retirement. The Power of Zero is just one of the tools that we use to ensure this happens. The Power of Zero is a methodology used to show you “HOW TO GET TO THE 0% TAX BRACKET AND TRANSFORM YOUR RETIREMENT.”

Please ask us how this can have a powerful effect on your retirement, and wealth management in general.