Your financial planner is required to explain his or her financial planning services and define each of your responsibilities. Along with compensation, you'll discuss how the professional relationship will work, including how decisions are to be made.

You should gather any necessary documents and talk to your planner about your current financial picture. Together, you can define your personal and financial goals, including timeframes. You should also discuss your comfort level when it comes to taking financial risks.

Your CFP^® professional will consider all aspects of your situation to determine what you need to do to meet your goals. To customize plan, your planner may analyze your assets, liabilities and cash flow, current insurance coverage, investments and tax strategies.

Your CFP^® professional will explain the rationale so you can make informed decisions. At this stage, share any concerns and revise recommendations if necessary.

You and your CFP^® professional need to agree on implementation action, responsibilities and time frames. Once agreed upon, your planner will then act to implement.

As you work toward your goals, you and your CFP^® professional need to decide how often to monitor your progress and make any necessary adjustments to recommendations.