A separate advice session from a tax guy can be worthwhile but always remember that the tax guys work to minimize taxes, which isn't necessarily always the goal.

The bogleheads forum is great for general advice, even if you only read it: https://www.bogleheads.org

Fee-only simply means they are paid an agreed on price from you and they don't get kickbacks, commissions, any type of reward for where you put your money. Fee-only fiduciaries will also have a link on their website to a PDF that very clearly describes the relationship and pricing.

There are hourly fees and AUM fees. I have only seen hourly fees apply for the creation of a financial plan. I did not see any offering in my area of someone managing a portfolio for less than 1% AUM.

The cost of a financial plan was quoted to me at least $6500, so not cheap.

I talked to a "normal" financial advisor as well—they get kickbacks. They tried to put me in super aggressive setups, life insurance, etc. It was not discussed upfront what their cuts are and it was very clear that it wasn't best for me. Be very very cautious if you ever go down this route.

Here's what NAPFA says, https://www.napfa.org/financial-planning/what-is-fee-only-ad...:

"Fee-Only financial advisors may be paid hourly, as a retainer, as a percentage of assets (AUM), or as a flat fee, depending upon the planner you choose."

What you are describing is advice-only not fee-only. That's what I want, an advice-only advisor. Good luck finding one. I can't.

I'm probably better off just taking the Series 65 myself for now to see what parts I don't know.

Fee only takes an up front fee, sometimes fixed, sometimes hourly.

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/102014/feeon...

>Generally, though, most agree, fee-only refers to payment from fixed, flat, hourly, or percentage-based fees.

A fee based on AUM is an entirely standard way of paying a fee-only adviser.

ref. https://www.napfa.org/financial-planning/what-is-fee-only-ad...