Financial Planning in Miami: What Local Families Ask Us First

Key takeaways

Florida's lack of income tax makes Roth conversions, gain harvesting, and business sales cheaper here than almost anywhere, and the plan should use that on purpose.
Property and flood insurance are the fastest-growing line in most Miami budgets, and the review of coverage, deductibles, and mitigation credits is a planning task, not a chore.
Many Miami families hold wealth in real estate and closely held businesses; the plan has to build liquidity and diversification alongside them.
Cross-border family, foreign accounts, and non-citizen spouses bring reporting and estate rules that a generic plan misses.

We're based in Miami and work with families across Miami-Dade and Broward, and with clients around the country by video. The national questions are the same everywhere: how much is enough, when to claim Social Security, how to pay less tax. But Miami families show up with a set of questions shaped by where they live, and the first meeting almost always opens with one of them.

"We have no state income tax. How do we use that?"

Florida's missing income tax is worth 5% to 13% of income compared with New York, New Jersey, California, and the other states many of our clients moved from. Most people treat it as a discount on living here. It's also a planning tool, because every strategy that recognizes income on purpose is cheaper in Florida than almost anywhere else.

Roth conversions in the years between retirement and Social Security cost only federal tax here. Realizing capital gains to reset basis or to unwind a concentrated position has no state layer. A business sale, an IPO, or a big bonus lands without the 10% to 13% a Californian pays. And for families who might move away someday, the logic runs in reverse: recognize income while you're resident, defer it if you're leaving. Our post on Florida residency planning has the details, including what it takes to convince a former state that the move was real.

Florida also has no estate or inheritance tax, no tax on retirement income, and constitutional protection for the homestead. The plan should know all of it and use all of it.

"Our insurance costs more than our mortgage payment."

Windstorm, flood, and homeowners coverage in Miami-Dade have climbed faster than nearly any other household cost. So the questions become: is the coverage right, are the deductibles affordable, and what can be done about the premium?

We look at the wind mitigation inspection and the credits it produces (roof shape, roof-to-wall attachment, opening protection). We look at the hurricane deductible, usually 2% to 5% of the dwelling limit, which on a $1.5 million house is $30,000 to $75,000 out of pocket. We look at the flood policy: required in flood zones with a mortgage, advisable in most of Miami without one, and capped at $250,000 under the NFIP for the structure unless you add private excess coverage. And we look at the umbrella policy, which most households here need at higher limits than they carry. The plan also holds a reserve for the deductibles, because a household that can't write a $50,000 check after a hurricane is underinsured no matter what the policy limit says. All of this is part of the insurance review, and we receive nothing from any policy.

"Most of our money is in real estate and the business."

Miami wealth sits disproportionately in property and closely held companies: a family business, a handful of rental condos, a commercial building, a piece of a development. Those assets produce income. They also concentrate risk in one market and one industry, and they're hard to sell on a schedule.

We're not going to tell a family to sell what built their wealth. What we do is build the rest of the balance sheet deliberately: retirement plans funded to the maximum every year, a diversified portfolio grown from the income the assets throw off, liquidity for the years when property just doesn't sell, and a tax strategy for the eventual exit (installment treatment, 1031 exchanges where they fit, and QSBS or entity planning for the business). Our posts on business owner planning and the estate rules for Florida homestead cover the pieces.

"Our family is in three countries."

A big share of Miami households have parents, siblings, or children abroad, accounts or property in another country, or a spouse who isn't a U.S. citizen. Each one brings rules. Foreign financial accounts above $10,000 in aggregate need an FBAR; larger holdings need Form 8938; foreign gifts and inheritances above $100,000 need Form 3520. A non-citizen spouse doesn't get the unlimited marital deduction, which reshapes the estate plan (a qualified domestic trust, or life insurance, or gifts within the $194,000 annual limit for non-citizen spouses in 2026). Foreign pensions, foreign trusts, and property abroad each come with their own reporting and their own tax treatment. We coordinate with the CPA who prepares the returns and, where it's needed, with counsel in the other country. The estate plan gets drafted to handle assets in more than one jurisdiction, not retrofitted after the fact.

"Should we buy or keep the condo?"

Miami's condo market hasn't been the same since the 2021 Surfside collapse: mandatory structural inspections, reserve requirements, and special assessments that can run into six figures per unit. For owners, the plan holds a reserve for assessments and treats the association's finances as part of the household's. For buyers, the association's reserve study and inspection report belong in the purchase analysis alongside the appraisal. And for retirees deciding whether to keep the big house or move to a condo, the downsizing math has to include assessments, insurance, and the loss of the homestead cap on assessed value when property changes hands.

"Who do we trust?"

Miami has a great many people selling financial products under the title of advisor, and clients arrive having been pitched annuities, whole life, private real estate funds, and offshore structures. Sound familiar? The test we suggest is compensation. An advisor paid only by the client has no reason to prefer one product over another. We're fee-only, we sell nothing, and the plan is the product. How that stacks up against the alternatives is in our post on how advisors are paid.

What working with us looks like

Meetings are by video, which suits clients here just as well as it suits clients in Seattle. The first meeting is a conversation about whether the fit is right. The planning that follows covers taxes, investments, retirement income, estate, insurance, and equity compensation in one place, as a virtual family office for households that don't need a staff. Miami is home. The questions above are the ones we hear first.

Frequently asked questions

Do you only work with Miami families?

No. The practice is virtual and clients are spread across the country. Miami is where we are, and local families get a planner who knows the insurance market, the homestead rules, and the condo situation firsthand.

Do you help with property taxes?

We review the homestead exemption, the Save Our Homes cap, and portability of the cap when moving within Florida, and we flag when an appeal of the assessed value may be worth filing. The appeal itself goes through the county's Value Adjustment Board.

What about clients who split time between Miami and another state?

Domicile is a facts-and-circumstances test, and a household with homes in two states needs to establish and document Florida as the primary one. The residency post has the checklist.

Do you speak Spanish?

Our planning is conducted in English. Many of our client households are bilingual, and the plan documents, meetings, and correspondence are in English.

Joseph G. Valerio, CFP®, EAFounder and Lead Advisor at Valerio Wealth Management, a fee-only, fiduciary virtual family office in Miami, Florida. One advisor, credentialed in both financial planning and federal tax. About Joseph

This article is general education, not individualized advice, and it is not tax, legal, or accounting advice. Figures reflect federal law for the year stated and can change. Valerio Wealth Management does not prepare or file tax returns. Speak with a qualified professional about your own situation before acting.