Large-firm, general estate planning guidance financial advisors in Lakeland, FL

The right financial advisor for you depends on how you weigh location, expertise, experience, the clients they typically serve, and how they work with you.

When you're organizing your estate plans in Lakeland, FL, you need advisors who understand how to navigate federal tax rules alongside Florida's unique tax environment, which includes no state income tax but significant property and sales taxes. A common mistake is overlooking how these taxes interact with your estate plan, potentially leading to unexpected costs or complications.

  • Federal and state tax balance. Confirm how they integrate federal tax strategies with Florida's property and sales tax landscape to protect your assets.
  • Homestead protection knowledge. Ask how they leverage Florida's strong homestead laws to safeguard your primary residence within your estate plan.
  • Large-firm resources. Large firms often provide access to specialized legal and tax experts; check how your advisor coordinates these services for comprehensive planning.
  • Estate liquidity planning. Ensure they address how to manage estate expenses and taxes without forcing asset sales that could disrupt your legacy.

Here are top matches to get you started. Review each profile to compare experience, credentials, and approach.

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Ryan B

Series 65

Lakeland, FL

AE Wealth Management, LLC

Ryan Bates is a financial advisor with AE Wealth Management, LLC in Lakeland, FL, holding a Series 65 credential and 12 years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Saxony Securities and Kalos Management. He serves as Chapter President for the American Financial Education Alliance in Polk County, FL, where he conducts financial education workshops. AE Wealth Management provides fee-based portfolio management, financial planning, and retirement-plan consulting to a diverse client base including individual households, corporations, and ERISA plan sponsors. The firm emphasizes model portfolio and direct asset management programs, employing fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis methods across various investment strategies.

Tax-loss harvesting Options & derivatives strategies Retirement plans for business owners (SEP, solo 401k) Self-Employed Founder/Business Owner
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Todd B

Series 66

Lakeland, FL

Ameriprise

Todd Barrow is a financial advisor with Ameriprise in Lakeland, FL, holding a Series 66 designation and 32 years of industry experience. His prior experience includes roles at Raymond James Financial and ownership in financial services and real estate-related businesses. Outside of his advisory work, he serves as an Executive Pastor at Family Worship Center. Ameriprise provides retirement-income planning services aimed at individuals approaching or in retirement, combining research and modeling with tax-efficient strategies. The firm serves clients with significant investable assets through a centralized consulting team and offers a broad range of advisory, brokerage, and insurance solutions.

Retirement income strategy Income planning Social Security optimization Retirement withdrawal strategies Approaching retirement
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Carl D

Series 66

Lakeland, FL

Alpha Advisors, LLC

Carl Dockery is a financial advisor with Alpha Advisors, LLC, holding a Series 66 designation and 20 years of industry experience. He has served as a director of Aytu BioScience, Inc., a biotech company focused on treatments for complex central nervous system diseases, since 2016. Dockery is also involved in managing several private investment and holding companies. Alpha Advisors serves individuals, business entities, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations with discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and consulting services. The firm constructs diversified portfolios using domestic and international equities, fixed income, tactical and alternative strategies, and sponsors affiliated private limited partnerships for qualified clients.

Wealth management Active portfolio management Real estate investing Life insurance needs analysis Founder/Business Owner Executive
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Matthew A

CFP®, Series 63, Series 65

Lakeland, FL

LPL Financial

Matthew Antos is a CFP® professional with 30 years of industry experience, currently serving at LPL Financial since 2008. Prior to joining LPL, he spent six years with Citigroup Global Markets. Outside of his advisory role, he manages operations for a nonprofit organization supporting Florida nurserymen, growers, and landscapers. LPL Financial is a national broker-dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser that provides advisory and brokerage services to individuals, retirement plan participants, banks, trust companies, and institutions. The firm offers a range of financial planning and investment solutions, utilizing model portfolios, third-party subadvisors, and customized strategies supported by advanced operational tools.

Wealth management Retirement income strategy College savings (529s, UTMA, etc.) Tax-loss harvesting Annuities Retired Founder/Business Owner Executive
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Joel T

Series 65

Lakeland, FL

Invst, LLC

Joel Thornton Jr. is a financial advisor at Invst, LLC with six years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has previously worked at Jarred Bunch Consulting, LLC since 2019 and Park Avenue Securities from 2009 to 2019. Invst, LLC serves individual clients, including high-net-worth individuals, as well as pension and profit-sharing plans, providing financial planning, investment management, and retirement plan consulting. The firm employs a combination of fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis to construct diversified portfolios and manages approximately $1.565 billion in assets for over 2,100 clients.

Wealth management Retirement plans for business owners (SEP, solo 401k) Business exit / sale strategy Real estate investing Tax strategies for small businesses Founder/Business Owner Executive
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Scott M

Series 63, Series 65

New York, NY

Morgan Stanley

Scott Mahoney is a financial advisor with Morgan Stanley in New York, NY, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and bringing 34 years of industry experience. He has been with Morgan Stanley since 2009, including roles at Morgan Stanley Private Bank, N.A. Outside of his advisory work, he is involved with Giants Foot Cubed LLC. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is a large SEC-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer that serves both individual and institutional clients. The firm offers a wide range of advisory programs and financial planning services supported by structured planning tools and broad investment resources.

General estate planning guidance
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Kayla S

Series 63, Series 65

Warwick, RI

Mass Mutual Investors Services

Kayla Santos is a financial advisor with Mass Mutual Investors Services in Warwick, RI, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and having 10 years of industry experience. She has worked at Mass Mutual Investors Services since 2017 and previously at MetLife Securities. In addition to her advisory role, Santos is an independent insurance agent, offering life, fixed annuities, disability, long-term care, and health insurance products. Mass Mutual Investors Services, LLC is a broker-dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser that serves individuals, business owners, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and employers. The firm provides financial planning, asset management, wrap and money-manager programs, and educational seminars, structuring engagements as annual collaborative relationships focused on goal analysis and written recommendations.

Divorce financial planning General estate planning guidance Multi-generational wealth transfer Cash flow / budgeting Founder/Business Owner Attorney Executive Married/Couples/Partners Divorced

Gordon B

Series 66

Luling, LA

Edward Jones

Gordon Brown III is a financial advisor at Edward Jones with 18 years of industry experience. He holds the Series 66 designation and has been with Edward Jones since 2008. Edward Jones is a full-service wealth management firm serving over four million individual and institutional clients, with approximately $1.01 trillion in assets under management. The firm offers a range of advisory programs and investment options, operating under a fiduciary standard.

Retirement income strategy General estate planning guidance Multi-generational wealth transfer Wealth management Oil & Gas Engineering Professional
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William S

Series 63, Series 65

College Station, TX

Smith & Wyatt

William Soltow is a financial advisor at Smith & Wyatt with 13 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and previously worked at CoreCap Advisors, LLC. Outside of advising, he is the founder of Frontier Wealth Management and serves as an independent insurance agent with Goosehead Insurance. Smith & Wyatt serves individuals, including high-net-worth clients, and corporations, managing approximately $207 million across 724 clients. The firm provides tailored financial planning, discretionary portfolio management, estate-planning consulting, and specialized educational programs, utilizing mutual funds and ETFs as primary investment vehicles.

Government Employee
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Thaddeus P

CFP®, Series 63, Series 65

Grand Rapids, MI

Advance Wealth Management Service, LLC

Thaddeus Phelps is a CFP® professional with 28 years of experience in the financial services industry. He has worked at Advance Wealth Management Service, LLC since 2019 and previously spent 14 years with Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. In addition to his advisory work, Phelps owns a tax preparation business and an accounting support service, and he serves in fiduciary roles such as trustee and executor. Advance Wealth Management Service, LLC provides investment advisory and financial planning services primarily to individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, estates, and business entities. The firm offers discretionary investment management through a wrap asset management program and emphasizes an individualized approach with asset allocation supported by fundamental, sector, and technical analysis, including risk management strategies such as put options and conservative cash instruments.

College savings (529s, UTMA, etc.) Charitable giving & philanthropy General estate planning guidance General tax planning Options & derivatives strategies
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Jeffrey P

Series 66

Dacula, GA

Merrill

Jeffrey Park is a financial advisor at Merrill with eight years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has worked at Merrill and affiliated firms since 2011, including roles at JPMorgan Chase Bank and J.P. Morgan Securities. Outside of his advisory work, he is a sole owner and co-owner of family rental properties in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Merrill, together with its affiliate Managed Account Advisors LLC, provides managed account services to Bank of America fiduciary clients through the Select Portfolio Solutions Program, offering model-based and discretionary strategies for individuals, high-net-worth clients, and institutional investors.

Tax-loss harvesting Active portfolio management Wealth management
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Scott M

Series 63, Series 65

New York, NY

Morgan Stanley

Scott Mahoney is a financial advisor with Morgan Stanley in New York, NY, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and bringing 34 years of industry experience. He has been with Morgan Stanley since 2009, including roles at Morgan Stanley Private Bank, N.A. Outside of his advisory work, he is involved with Giants Foot Cubed LLC. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is a large SEC-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer that serves both individual and institutional clients. The firm offers a wide range of advisory programs and financial planning services supported by structured planning tools and broad investment resources.

General estate planning guidance
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Elizabeth B

Series 66

New York, NY

J.P. Morgan Securities

Elizabeth Brown is a Series 66 licensed financial advisor with J.P. Morgan Securities in New York, NY, where she has worked since 2012. She has 26 years of industry experience. J.P. Morgan Securities provides institutional consulting services to clients such as corporations, foundations, and defined contribution plan sponsors, offering asset allocation advice, investment manager and fund searches, and customized performance reporting through a select group of Wealth Advisors. The firm combines large institutional advisory operations with brokerage, distribution, and investment management capabilities.

Wealth management Executive Founder/Business Owner
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Wesley P

Series 63, Series 66

Fort Worth, TX

Wells Fargo Clearing

Wesley Pool is a financial advisor at Wells Fargo Clearing with 15 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and previously worked at JPMorgan Securities LLC for seven years. Outside of finance, he has been involved with #TagMeBro LLC and Fry Street Public House. Wells Fargo Advisors is a national securities firm serving individual, corporate, and institutional clients with investment advisory services, financial planning, and retirement plan consulting. The firm manages approximately $671 billion in assets and offers both brokerage and advisory solutions.

Retired Founder/Business Owner
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Willie M

Series 63, Series 66

Cary, NC

Equitable Advisors

Willie Myles is a financial advisor with Equitable Advisors in Cary, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 16 years of industry experience. He has worked at Equitable Advisors since 2016, previously serving at Axa Advisors and MSI Financial Services. Outside of advising, he is a co-chairman of a fundraising campaign for Alpha Light Fund Inc., a nonprofit focused on renovating the House of Alpha. Equitable Advisors serves a range of clients including individuals, pension plans, corporations, and charitable organizations, providing financial planning, retirement consulting, and asset management through a network of representatives and third-party managers. The firm offers various investment vehicles and ERISA fiduciary services, relying on third-party program sponsors and an affiliation with a publicly traded parent company.

Retirement plans for business owners (SEP, solo 401k) Business exit / sale strategy Concentrated stock management Equity Recipients (RS/RSU, SOP, ESPP) Long-term care insurance Founder/Business Owner Retired Executive Approaching retirement Sandwich Generation
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