The papers were signed.

The estate documents existed. The legal work was done. On the surface, the client had handled the responsible part.

Then he asked William Bissett a better question: what happens when I am gone and my wife and daughters do not know where anything is, who to call, or what to do first?

In this episode of Fiduciary Alchemy, Craig Andrews talks with William Bissett, President and Senior Client Advisor at Portus Wealth Advisors, about the planning work that begins after the obvious boxes are checked. William works with business owners, especially blue-collar and trades business owners doing roughly $10M-$50M in revenue, and he sees a pattern many people miss. A business can look simple from the outside while carrying real financial, family, and succession complexity underneath.

William shares how he started in insurance and annuities, rejected product-pushing, learned planning from the back office, wrote 160-200 financial plans, worked under Michael Kitces, and eventually founded his own firm in 2019. That path shaped how he thinks about advice. Planning is not a product. It is a process that has to make sense when life stops cooperating.

The conversation turns practical when William tells the story of building a detailed organizer for a client whose family would have been lost even with proper estate documents in place. The lesson is blunt. Documents matter, but they do not help much if the surviving family cannot act on them.

Craig and William also talk about why clients often want simple, fast solutions to complex planning problems, why William starts with what is on fire before returning to the broader plan, and why educated clients ask better questions. They also dig into AI in wealth management, from note takers and agents to the risk that vendors and custodians wall off data to protect their turf.

Near the end, William pushes back on a future where bots do everything and people sit idle. Work still gives people purpose. Human connection still matters. And in a world chasing automation, crafted human experiences may become more valuable, not less.

Connect with William Bissett on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/williambissett/.

Want to learn more about William Bissett’s work at Portus Wealth Advisors? Visit https://www.portusadvisors.com.

You can also reach William Bissett directly at william@portusadvisors.com.

Think you'd be a great guest on the show? Apply at https://fiduciaryalchemy.com/podcast/apply/.

Want to learn more about Craig Andrews' work? Check out https://fiduciaryalchemy.com/.

Financial advisory growth can expose every weak spot in the business.

In this episode of Fiduciary Alchemy, Craig talks with Sean Kuttin, Business Development Manager with Kuttin Wealth Management, about what it takes to build a firm that can serve 27,000+ clients, support 250+ team members, and steward more than $18B in assets without losing the human work at the center of advice.

Sean shares how Kuttin Wealth became a safe haven for retiring advisors, why leadership has to multiply through other leaders, and why the future of financial advice will not be won by stock picking alone. The conversation moves from family legacy to tax strategy, faith-based portfolios, advisor training, AI, emotional intelligence, and the 53-step process Kuttin uses to prepare advisors before they ever sit in front of clients.

The through-line is simple: better planning starts with better questions.

Including one Sean learned to ask often: what do you want for yourself?

Learn more about Kuttin Wealth Management: https://www.kuttinwealthmanagement.com/

Connect with Sean Kuttin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-kuttin-ba931b1bb/

Think you'd be a great guest on the show? Apply at https://fiduciaryalchemy.com/podcast/apply/.

Want to learn more about Craig Andrews' work? Check out https://fiduciaryalchemy.com/.

Everyone loves the headline number on a business exit.

The sale price. The valuation. The story that makes the room go quiet.

But Brett Swarts wants owners looking at the number that comes after tax. Because a big exit can become a quiet surrender if the tax plan shows up after the deal is already moving.

In this episode of Fiduciary Alchemy, Craig Andrews talks with Brett Swarts, founder of Capital Gains Tax Solutions, about the planning that high-net-worth entrepreneurs need before selling a business, real estate, stock, or other appreciated assets. Brett breaks down why owners need to know the rules of the game before the exit, not after the wire hits.

They discuss why a CPA who reports history may not be the same person who builds strategy, why QSBS can be worth exploring years before a sale, and how deferred sales trust planning can create flexibility for owners who want the next chapter to be active, passive, or something in between.

Brett also makes the estate-tax problem hard to ignore. For families with significant wealth inside a taxable estate, the issue is not abstract. It can determine whether the next generation keeps the asset, sells under pressure, or watches legacy get converted into a tax bill.

Craig and Brett close on a practical point: nobody will care more about your taxes than you. The right team matters. Timing matters. And the conversation should start before the exit is close enough to feel real.

Want to learn more about Brett Swarts' work? Visit Capital Gains Tax Solutions at https://capitalgainstaxsolutions.com/.

Connect with Brett Swarts on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-swarts/.

Think you'd be a great guest on the show? Apply at https://fiduciaryalchemy.com/podcast/apply/.

Want to learn more about Craig Andrews' work? Check out https://fiduciaryalchemy.com/.