Holland Capital Management is an independent, fiduciary financial advisor working with clients throughout Florida from our Winter Park office. We start with your retirement income, taxes and estate plan, then build the investments around those decisions. Meetings are by video, by phone or in person by appointment.
You may have moved here with a plan built somewhere else. The retirement accounts came with you. So did the will, the beneficiary forms and the tax habits of the state you left.
Or you may have lived here for years, and the questions are the usual ones. When can you stop working? Which account pays the bills first? How much can you give your children without shortchanging yourself?
Either way, the answers depend on each other. How much you take from an IRA sets your tax bill for the year. That same income is what Medicare looks at, two years on, when it sets your premiums. Your will and your beneficiary forms decide where everything ends up. We work through those decisions first, then build the portfolio to carry them out.
RETIREMENT ENGINEERING™
The Order Matters
Five retirement decisions and why timing matters.
What Changes When Florida Becomes Home
Florida does not tax personal income. If you moved from a state that did, some choices you made there may deserve another look: when to convert money to a Roth account, when to take income, and which account to draw from first.
Moving to Florida does not change the federal tax rules. Required distributions, capital gains and the income thresholds for Medicare premiums still apply.
The state you left may want evidence that you actually left. Where you vote, register your car, file your taxes and spend your time should all tell the same story. Florida lets you file a declaration of domicile with the clerk of court. It helps, but it is one piece of the record, not the whole record.
Your house is part of the plan too. The homestead exemption can lower the taxable value of your primary residence, and the Save Our Homes limit restricts how quickly its assessed value can rise. You apply through your county property appraiser by March 1 (Florida Department of Revenue).
If Your Estate Plan Was Written Somewhere Else
The will or trust in your files may have been signed in another state, long before the move. Moving to Florida does not necessarily make it invalid. But Florida law can affect how parts of your estate plan work, including rules about homestead property that can limit how your home passes to your family. A Florida attorney should read it.
Beneficiary forms work differently from a will. Your IRA, 401(k), annuity and life insurance pass to whoever is named on the form, whatever the will says. We check that the forms, the account titles and the documents all point the same direction as part of estate and wealth transfer planning. Your attorney drafts the documents.
Two Homes, One Balance Sheet
You may still own the house up north, a place at the lake, or a condo you rent out. That is common, and it is fine. But once Florida becomes home, those properties are no longer separate decisions. Which home is your legal residence? What does each one cost to carry each year? What happens to the one outside Florida when you die?
Real estate in another state can require a separate probate there. Some states also tax estates at far lower amounts than the federal government does. We treat each property the way we treat each account: as part of one balance sheet that has to pay for your life now and pass to someone later.
Where the Investments Fit
We do not start with the portfolio. We start with what you spend, what Social Security or a pension already covers, and which accounts should pay for the rest. Once that is clear, we know what the investments have to do and how much risk they need to take.
That order is the core of our retirement planning work. Investment management comes after it and follows it.
Where We Work in Florida
Each of these pages covers planning questions specific to that part of the state:
Northeast Florida
Central Florida
Tampa Bay
Southwest Florida
- financial advisor in Sarasota
- financial advisor in Bradenton
- financial advisor in Fort Myers
- financial advisor in Naples
Southeast Florida
- financial advisor in West Palm Beach
- financial advisor in Boca Raton
- financial advisor in Fort Lauderdale
- financial advisor in Miami
If your city is not listed, we still work with you. Most meetings happen by video or phone.
Working with Holland Capital
Holland Capital Management is an independent registered investment adviser and a fiduciary. M. Chad Holland, CFA, CFP® works directly with clients and is responsible for the planning and advice.
Our main office is in Charlotte, North Carolina, and our Florida office is in Winter Park. Most meetings are by video or phone. When an in-person meeting makes sense, we can meet by appointment at a business center near you.
The first conversation is free. If there is work worth doing after that, we will define the scope and cost before you decide whether to move forward.
For how engagements are set up, see what we do.
RETIREMENT ENGINEERING™
The Order Matters
Five retirement decisions and why timing matters.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I Need a Financial Advisor Who Lives in My Florida City?
No. Most planning work happens by video or phone, with documents shared securely, and we meet in person by appointment when it helps.
What matters more is whether your advisor understands the Florida rules that now apply to you and looks at your accounts, taxes, home and estate plan together.
Is Holland Capital a Fiduciary?
Yes. Holland Capital Management is a registered investment adviser and acts as a fiduciary when providing advisory services. That means we are required to act in your best interest in that relationship.
I Just Moved to Florida. What Should I Review First?
Start with the record of your move: driver license, voter and vehicle registration, and where you file taxes. If the home is your primary residence, apply for the homestead exemption by March 1.
Then have a Florida attorney review your will or trust, pull every beneficiary form, and look again at your withdrawal and Roth decisions now that Florida does not tax your income.
Does Florida Have an Estate or Inheritance Tax?
No. Florida does not impose its own estate or inheritance tax. The federal estate tax still applies to estates above the federal exemption, and real estate you own in another state may be subject to that state’s rules.
Photo: Miamireader / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.
