Solving the Financial Planning Gaps for Child-Free Clients with Dr. Zay Zigmont, PhD, MBA, CFP®

Kathleen and Amy speak with Dr. Jay Zigmont, PhD, CFP®, founder of Child Free Wealth and Child Free Trust, a fiduciary solution built specifically for the growing population of adults without children. Dr. Zigmont is on a mission to address what he calls the "fiduciary void" for the roughly 25% of U.S. adults who are child-free yet are still served by an industry that typically assumes every client has (or will have) kids.

Jay shares his personal path from healthcare leadership and academia to financial planning, and what he discovered while earning his CFP®: the standard planning "life script" is baked into the education, tools, and assumptions of our profession. That insight led him to research child-free households, write books on the topic, and ultimately build a planning model aligned with child-free client goals—including a flat annual fee structure designed to eliminate conflicts that can arise when clients want to intentionally spend down assets.

We discuss:

• Why traditional AUM pricing can clash with "Die With Zero" goals

• How Jay uses a "Die With Zero Safety Net" approach, including long-term care planning, delayed Social Security, and a lower Monte Carlo target paired with ongoing adjustments

• The estate planning reality for child-free adults—why many don't have documents in place, and how the system assumes a next-of-kin safety net

• How Child Free Trust works as a nationwide backstop for medical and financial decision-making (POA, executor, trustee), coordinated with care teams and 24/7 support

• Why long-term care planning is a fiduciary responsibility for every advisor—especially for solo agers—and how clients weigh self-insuring vs. standalone coverage

This episode is a practical, thought-provoking look at how our planning process, tools, and business models may need to evolve to better serve a large (and growing) segment of clients—particularly those navigating retirement and aging without children.

https://childfreewealth.com/

https://childfreetrust.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayzigmont/

Hosts Brad and Kevin speak with Cozy Wittman of College Inside Track.

Our guest on this episode is Cozy Wittman. As Education and Partnership leader at College Inside Track, Cozy speaks nationally about college search, educating families and training financial advisors and other professionals who work with families with high schoolers.

Cozy is passionate about dispelling myths around how colleges accept students and how they price their product. She has been featured in The Journal of Financial Planning on the subject of college planning. And she's a mom of 5 kids, who all had different goals for college!

They discuss:

• The difference between acceptance, deferral, and waitlist
• Appealing financial aid offers, and getting your "paying for college" plan in place
• Whether it's worth the time to search for multiple smaller scholarships

Contact Cozy and College Inside Track: www.collegeinsidetrack.com

"AI's Impact on Advisory Practice Business Transactions"

On this episode of the Wicked Pissah Podcast, we are joined by Brian Goodhart, Director of Capstone Strategic's M&A Advisory Services Practice.

Artificial Intelligence is increasingly impacting Advisory Practices, and its impact on potential business transactions is not immune to this quickly changing landscape.

Brian shares with us his tremendous background and experience with Advisory Practice transactions, how AI has changed the landscape of due diligence and target acquisition for Advisory Practices, and what we can do to be prepared to buy or sell a business.

Get ready to learn and enjoy this episode of the Wicked Pissah Podcast.