When your pay arrives as company stock, plan around it.

Each award type is taxed differently, and the default choices aren’t always the right ones for you. We map your grants, vesting dates, and tax picture so decisions get made ahead of the calendar, not at it.

What we look at

• RSUs: withholding at vest compared with what you may actually owe
• NSOs and ISOs: exercise timing, AMT exposure, and holding-period questions
• ESPP: qualifying and disqualifying dispositions
• Each decision coordinated with your CPA

Your salary, bonus, and unvested equity already depend on the company. A large vested position on top of that doubles the bet. We help you set written rules for reducing it, with taxes in view, so the decision isn’t made on a feeling about the stock.

What we look at

• How much of your net worth depends on one company, vested and unvested
• A written, rules-based selling schedule
• Tax-aware approaches, including tax-lot selection and, where it applies, NUA for company stock in a 401(k)
• The rest of the portfolio, built so it doesn’t add to the same risk

If you’re an insider or in a pre-clearance group, when you can trade is set by company policy and securities rules. We build your window calendar into the plan and, where a 10b5-1 trading plan may fit, help you prepare the questions for your company’s counsel. Plan terms and approval stay with your company’s legal team.

What we look at

• Your window calendar and pre-clearance rules, built into the plan
• Whether a 10b5-1 plan fits, discussed with company counsel
• Cooling-off periods and how they affect timing
• Reporting questions flagged for company counsel

Deferral elections are usually made the year before and are hard to change. Deferred balances are generally an unsecured promise from your employer. We look at how much to defer, and when you’ll be paid, alongside your tax picture and the company’s situation.

What we look at

• Annual election amounts and distribution schedules
• Your tax rate now compared with at distribution
• Employer credit risk, and how much to leave in the plan
• How payouts line up with retirement, a sale of the company, or a job change

A new role, a merger, or retirement can accelerate vesting, forfeit unvested awards, trigger deferred-comp payouts, and change your benefits, often all at once. We work through what happens to each piece before you sign.

What we look at

• Unvested equity and what you would leave behind
• Change-of-control and severance terms, reviewed with your attorney
• Deferred-comp payouts triggered by separation
• Benefits, insurance, and 401(k) decisions at departure

Equity comp can create real wealth and real complexity for a spouse or partner, children, and aging parents. We bring the family into the plan and keep beneficiaries, titling, and estate documents in line with it, working with your estate attorney.

What we look at

• Beneficiary designations on 401(k), deferred comp, and insurance
• Education funding and family gifts
• What a spouse or partner needs to know, and where to find it
• Charitable giving with appreciated stock, coordinated with your CPA