About Us
Principal
George@SafeHarborFinancialAdvisors.com
703-829-SAFE (7233)
302-313-6614
Originally from Long Island, New York, George earned his bachelor's degree from Manhattan College and his law degree from Saint John's University School of Law. In 1997, George earned a Masters in Law degree from George Washington University School of Law with a specialization in income taxation and estate planning.
During his 22-year Navy career as a member of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps, George served as the Navy's Tax Counsel during three separate assignments. In that position he represented the interests of Navy leadership as well as Sailors and their families with respect to tax legislation, regulations, and policy. He also operated and later supervised the Navy’s electronic income tax filing program.
During his Navy career George recognized that to be a truly effective estate planning and tax attorney he needed more detailed knowledge of personal finances and how they interacted with other planning being done for his clients. To that end he earned the Certified Financial Planner® professional designation awarded by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. upon completion of a rigorous CFP® certification process that includes demanding education, examination, experience, and ethical requirements. Although fewer than 5% of all of the CFP® professionals in the U.S. also have a law degree, George recognized the importance of the financial planning process in preparing a comprehensive estate plan, and earned this certification in 2002 to enhance his legal practice. For our Washington DC metro area clients, Safe Harbor Financial Advisors serves as a complementary practice to George’s estate and tax planning work to provide a holistic planning approach for client needs. For our Delaware clients George can work closely with the client’s estate planning attorney to provide a fully coordinated financial and legal plan, with tax efficiency planning as part of the holistic approach as well.
George Reilly J.D., LL.M. (Tax), CFP®
Why We Are Named Safe Harbor Financial Advisors
As you saw in his biography, Safe Harbor founder George Reilly is a Navy veteran and maintains a love for the sea and shore. As an avid boater, he knows the importance of getting into a safe harbor before a storm hits.
Beyond its nautical meaning, however, a safe harbor has a number of meanings in finance and taxes. Similar to a sailor seeking refuge from a stormy sea, a financial or tax safe harbor offers protection from the metaphorical storm of financial regulators or tax authorities if properly used.
Finally, we use this safe harbor theme as a goal of financial planning – when (not if) you achieve financial independence and can live comfortably after your primary earning years (the time of life formerly known as “retirement”), you have entered your own personal safe harbor and are safe from the rocks, shoals, and storms of Wall Street and the global market. It is our mission to help you get there safely!
The Safe Harbor Mission
Our mission is to ensure that professional, objective financial advice is provided to our clients in the manner most appropriate for their needs. Our focus on those clients who have already transitioned into retirement and those preparing to do so in the near future makes us unique among other financial professionals.
Our Approach
We believe that financial advisors must have a Fiduciary duty to their clients. This means that we must act solely in your best interests. This is only possible under a fee-only arrangement where you pay us directly and where we sell no products and accept no funds from third parties. Our team is made up of fee-only financial planner professionals who provide services on an hourly fee or project fee basis to those clients who prefer that service option, with hourly fee engagements generally reserved for returning clients seeking a plan checkup. For those clients who want or would benefit from an ongoing service program in some cases we can work with other advisors in a collaborative relationship with a financial advisory team who provides our clients with a more comprehensive long-term relationship. You can read about some client situations at the link below to see if Safe Harbor is the right advisor for you.
Is Safe Harbor a good fit for your needs? You can learn more about our typical clients here.
Hourly/Project Fee Engagements
Fee-only financial advisors who work on an hourly/project fee for service basis are rare in the financial profession. This service model is similar to the as-needed professional services provided by your doctor, dentist, attorney or CPA, where you pay for just the time your highly qualified advisor works with you or for you, with no ongoing fees. Clients have the flexibility to engage an advisor’s services on a one-time basis or for periodic as-needed engagements, although as a general rule our hourly-only engagements are for returning clients who are seeking plan checkups or have specific questions. For new clients we typically engage for a project fee.
This service model works well for self-directed individuals and do-it-yourself investors who periodically need or want a professional second opinion of their financial situation and/or or validation that the decisions they’ve made are sound. These clients prefer to manage some or all of the implementation on their own.
Comprehensive/Ongoing Advisory Services
While Safe Harbor does not manage client assets or provide ongoing services to our clients, for those clients who would like to work with an advisor to implement their Safe Harbor project recommendations over time, or who prefer comprehensive financial planning on an ongoing basis in an annual service program, we may still be able to help you.
In some cases Safe Harbor can work with a full-service financial services professional on an as-needed basis for a collaborative approach to the client’s retirement planning and investment needs. This can provide our clients with a unique comprehensive retirement-focused financial plan.
Financial planning is a process, not an event. Another way to view the financial planning process is as a journey to a financial goal. As with any journey you need to know where you are starting from, where you want to end up, the hazards or pitfalls (or the fun detours) along the way, and you need a way to measure your progress and make adjustments as needed. In some respects this is similar to plotting a course at sea. There are many possible ways to get to your destination but you need a plan of action, an accurate chart, the right tools, and you may need to make course adjustments along the way to account for changes or challenges. You also may want to seek assistance along the journey from others who have experience or expertise that you can draw upon.