How to Find an LGBTQ-Supportive Financial Advisor

Personal finance can feel especially daunting to members of the LGBTQ+ community, who frequently face exclusion and discrimination, including from financial and government institutions.

According to an analysis by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, gay men earn about 96 cents on the dollar compared to their straight peers^[0]

Nevertheless, financial counselors and planners can help LGBTQ+ people navigate the tough financial questions they’re facing.

Know there's financial advice for every income level

It's a common misconception that you have to be rich to need a financial planner. In fact, financial counseling and planning can be a tool for supporting LGBTQ+ families and communities. Financial planning helps people realize their goals, protect them amid challenges to trans and queer personhood and family security, and (potentially) shrink wealth gaps.

LGBTQ+ financial counselors and financial planners — as well as those allied with the community — are immersed in the cultures and demographics they seek to serve. They can help you start small with paying off debt, financing a medical procedure and investing for retirement.

Financial counselors help with everything from learning money management and creating financial goals to accessing tax credits and public assistance agencies to managing debt. This is especially important given that members of the LGBTQ+ community are more likely to live in poverty, experience homelessness and face discrimination and violence, including from their families of origin^[0]

Certified financial planners can assist in creating a comprehensive financial plan. CFPs complete rigorous training to be certified and are fiduciaries, meaning they are legally required to act in their clients' best interests.

» Learn more about the different types of financial advisors

Seek an advisor who takes your needs seriously

Finding an advisor who is both culturally and financially competent can help you identify and execute your financial and life goals, be it paying down credit and student loan debt, or financing your transition.

For San Diego-based CFP Marci Bair, financial planning begins with “creating a safe space for each and every client to be able to communicate their life story to you.”

Bair wants to hear from clients about what it was like growing up, how a client’s family talked about money, whom the client loves and whom they financially support. These details are especially important for LGBTQ+ people who may be estranged from or not recognized by their family of origin.

“If you don't have your financial and legal house in order, your family's desires can come in and make decisions that exclude the people that you love and leave behind” in the event of an emergency, illness or death, says CFP Cait Howerton.

Identify an LGBTQ+ financial ally

To find a financial counselor or financial planner near you, you can start by searching your local chamber of commerce or the National LGBTQ+ & Allied Chamber of Commerce to see if there is a financial advisor near you.

However, if you’re not out yet or not comfortable using a planner you might run into at the grocery store, online or remote financial planning can help connect you to a member of the LGBTQ+ community or an ally.

You can use the Find an Advisor tool on the XY Planning Network website to search by LGBTQIA. Or you can search Find a CFP Professional by specialties such as "LGBTQIA Individuals/Couples."

»MORE: Use our tool to search for a financial advisor near you

Make sure your wishes are honored

Several financial, health and legal tools can help ensure your wishes are carried out in the event of an emergency or death.

• Advance directives designate someone to act on your behalf in medical decisions if you’re no longer able to communicate, such as during end-of-life care.

• A power of attorney allows someone else to make decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do so on matters ranging from health care toand money management. to placing trades on behalf of a company.

• A will details issues such as guardianship of children, funeral arrangements and distribution of property.

• A trust ensures your assets go to the intended people (with potential tax benefits for some types of trusts).

» MORE: Read our guide to estate planning

These are especially important for LGBTQ+ individuals and families who are not legally married, says Georgia-based CFP candidate Kiersten Peshek.

“If clients aren’t interested in getting married, which is perfectly acceptable in relationships, we need to think about estate planning: that they inherit the house, have the ability to make health care decisions and make sure the law and family members don’t get in the way,” Peshek says.

Legally formalizing your financial, health and other wishes is especially important for children of LGBTQ+ people who may not be biologically related to their parents.