How to Find a Financial Planner

This Element is an excerpt from Easy Money: How to Simplify Your Finances and Get What You Want Out of Life (9780132383837) by Liz Pulliam Weston. Available in print and digital formats.

A practical checklist for finding an honest, competent financial advisor-and avoiding those who aren't.

Hundreds of thousands of people are passing themselves off as financial planners in the United States today. Few are what they seem. Anyone can call herself a financial planner or advisor: There are no education, experience, or ethics requirements. Furthermore, most people who offer advice aren't legally obligated to put your interests before their own. So how do you find someone who can actually help you?