Find a Financial Advisor in Delaware County

One Saturday for a Powell family with two teenagers

Here is an invented example, not a real household. Dan and Priya are both 47. He manages a department at a Columbus insurance company and she runs a dental practice she bought into six years ago. They live in a four-bedroom house in Powell. Their daughter is a junior, their son is in eighth grade, and Priya’s father has just moved into an apartment ten minutes away.

On this particular Saturday morning they are at the kitchen table with a college tuition estimate, a statement showing the practice loan, and a note from the school district about a levy. They want to know three things. How much should they be putting into college accounts? Is the practice worth more than their retirement savings? And what happens to the household if one of them cannot work?

Advisors who serve the Delaware County area, by phone or video, handle questions like these every week. The sections below show how each type of advisor fits.

Delaware County at a glance

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 to 2024 American Community Survey, Delaware County has a median household income of $133,540 and a median home value of $445,500. About 242,000 people live here, and the population has been rising steadily. Several figures stand out when you compare them side by side.

• 78.5% of homes are owner occupied, so a house is usually the largest asset a family owns.
• 59.4% of adults hold a bachelor degree or higher, and many work in management, finance, health care and technical jobs.
• 15.1% of residents are 65 or older, with a median age of 40.1, so the county is neither young nor old.
• Median owner costs with a mortgage are $2,493 a month, and median gross rent is $1,492.
• The unemployment rate is 3.0%.

The pattern is a prosperous family county where the main planning job is turning a strong income into lasting wealth.

Financial planners in Delaware County

A planner starts with the full picture and works toward a plan on paper. For a family with two teens, that usually means college savings first. Ohio offers a state-sponsored 529 plan through its Treasurer, and contributions may qualify for a state tax deduction under current law, so confirm current rules with the Ohio Department of Taxation or a tax professional.

Other topics a planner raises include how much to hold in an emergency fund when a family has a large mortgage, whether to pay down a mortgage early or invest the extra money, and how to balance helping a parent with funding your own retirement. A planner puts numbers beside each choice, so the decision is easier to make together. Our college savings guide explains the account options.

Dan and Priya might leave a first planning meeting with a short list: raise the college contribution a little each January, build six months of expenses in cash because Priya’s income varies with the practice, and ask her father’s attorney about powers of attorney. Small, dated steps like these are the real product of planning, and they keep a busy family from drifting.

Investment advisors in Delaware County

An investment advisor manages the portfolio itself. For Delaware County households that often means a 401(k) from a Columbus employer, an IRA, a brokerage account and 529 plans for the children. The advisor looks at the mix of stocks and bonds across all of them, rather than treating each account on its own.

Someone with 18 years until retirement can generally tolerate more market swings than a person with four. The advisor sets a target mix, rebalances when it drifts and picks funds with low costs. Tax-aware choices matter too, such as holding bond funds in a tax-deferred account when appropriate. Read the investing guide for the basics of diversification.

Financial advisors in Delaware County, and how fees work

An advisor can be paid in a few ways. A percentage of assets under management is common once a portfolio is large. A flat yearly retainer suits families who want ongoing planning without paying more as the balance grows. Hourly or project pricing covers a single question such as a rollover or a college funding model. Commissions come from selling insurance or investment products.

When Dan and Priya compare quotes, the useful number is the total cost in dollars each year, including fund expenses, and what they receive for it. Ask whether the fee covers tax planning, estate coordination and meetings with your accountant. Our guide to working with a financial advisor lists questions to bring to a first call.

Wealth management in Delaware County

Wealth management brings investments, taxes, insurance and estate paperwork under one plan. It fits families whose assets have outgrown a simple setup: stock compensation from a large employer, a business, farmland that has become valuable, or an inheritance.

Priya’s dental practice is a good example. Her ownership share may be worth more than her retirement accounts, yet it is hard to sell quickly. A wealth manager can help estimate its value, plan for a future sale or a partner buyout, and make sure that disability insurance and business insurance line up with the personal plan. Business owners often discover that their retirement date depends on a sale that has not happened yet.

In Ohio there is no state estate tax, but federal rules and the way assets are titled still matter. Our estate planning guide covers wills, trusts and beneficiary forms.

Retirement planning in Delaware County

Many Delaware County residents will retire from a Columbus-area employer with a 401(k) and perhaps a pension. Others work for public employers and belong to an Ohio retirement system, where benefit formulas depend on years of service and age. A person with 28 years in a school district, for example, should get an official benefit estimate before picking a retirement date.

Retirement planning answers a plain question: how much can you spend each year without running short? It looks at Social Security timing, withdrawals from taxable and tax-deferred accounts, and health costs before Medicare begins at 65. Ohio taxes retirement income under its own rules, and a senior homestead exemption may reduce property tax for qualifying owners, so confirm current rules with the state. Start with our retirement planning guide.

Life insurance in Delaware County

A couple with a mortgage near $350,000 and two children has a lot riding on both incomes. Term life insurance is the usual tool, since it provides a large benefit for a modest premium over a fixed number of years. The amount should cover the mortgage, the children’s education and several years of living costs for the surviving spouse.

Business owners need an extra look. Buy-sell agreements are often funded with life insurance so that a partner or family can buy out a deceased owner’s share. Employer coverage is often a small multiple of salary and may end if you leave, so many families add a private policy. See our life insurance guide for the difference between term and permanent coverage.

Planning for college and retirement together?

An advisor who serves Delaware County can map both goals on one timeline by phone or video.

Talk with an advisor →

Growth, school levies and property taxes

Delaware County has added new subdivisions at a steady pace, and local schools and services have expanded to follow. Ohio funds schools partly through voted property tax levies, and many districts also use a school district income tax. Residents often pay a city or village income tax on top of state tax, which can differ between where you live and where you work.

A household that moves from one Delaware County community to another, or takes a job in a different Columbus suburb, can see its tax bill change. Ohio also reappraises property periodically, so a family should plan for taxes to rise along with home values. When a home is worth $445,000 or more, even small changes in the property tax rate add up to a real yearly cost. A planner can build future tax increases into your budget.

Farmland and open space on the county edges

While the southern townships have filled with subdivisions, the northern and eastern parts of the county still have working farms. Ohio has a program called Current Agricultural Use Value, which taxes qualifying farmland on its farm value rather than its development value. Families that own land need to plan for what happens when the next generation does not want to farm.

Selling or developing land can create a large taxable gain. Gifting, trusts and conservation agreements are some of the tools to discuss with an attorney, an accountant and an advisor together. Heirs who inherit land alongside siblings often need a written plan so one person is not forced to sell to settle an estate.

The commute to Columbus and pay that moves around

Many residents drive south to work in Columbus each day. Pay in this region often includes bonuses, stock grants or commissions, so income swings from one year to the next. A planner can help you set a base budget on steady pay, then decide what to do with bonuses.

Two-income families also compare employer benefits closely. One spouse might have the better health plan while the other has the better 401(k) match. Reviewing benefits each fall, before open enrollment, can save thousands.

Risks and insurance gaps in a fast-growing suburb

Newer neighborhoods can hide coverage problems that older ones have already discovered.

• Large houses cost more to rebuild than they sold for, so a homeowners policy should be checked for replacement cost as well as market value.
• Ohio gets severe thunderstorms, tornado warnings and heavy winter ice, and damage claims may carry a separate wind or hail deductible.
• Land near streams and reservoirs can flood even outside mapped flood zones, and standard policies leave flood out. Water backup from a sump pump or sewer line is another common exclusion.
• A household with a business, rental property or teen drivers should consider an umbrella liability policy sized to its net worth.
• Disability insurance protects the paycheck that funds everything else. A self-employed professional such as a dentist, a contractor or a consultant should find out whether an own-occupation definition is available.
• Long-term care costs are a real worry for families with older parents. Hybrid life and care policies, savings set aside for care, and family agreements are the main options to compare.

None of these items is exciting, and that is why they get postponed. A planner can rank them by how much damage each one could do to your finances, then handle them one a quarter.

Areas we serve in Delaware County

Advisors who serve the area, by phone or video, work with households throughout the county. That includes the city of Delaware, home to Ohio Wesleyan University, as well as Powell, Lewis Center, Sunbury, Galena, Ostrander and the northern edge of Dublin. Residents of Orange, Liberty and Genoa townships and neighboring parts of the Columbus area are welcome as well.

How to choose a financial advisor in Delaware County

Choosing is easier with a checklist. Work through these eight points before you sign anything.

1. Ask how the person is paid and what that costs you each year in dollars.
2. Ask whether they are required to put your interests first on every recommendation.
3. Search their name on the SEC adviser database and the FINRA BrokerCheck tool.
4. Check for business owner or equity compensation experience if that applies to you.
5. Find out how often you will talk and how fast calls are returned.
6. Ask who else on the team will see your information.
7. Get a sample of the plan or report you would receive.
8. Confirm what it takes to move your accounts elsewhere if you change your mind.

Frequently asked questions