Advice Formula

Strengthen your Situation, Achieve, Roadblocks, and Impact before Quadrant 3

S Situation

What is the client's current situation?

A Achieve

What does the client want to achieve?

R Roadblocks

What's preventing them from achieving it?

I Impact

What's the impact of not changing?

Situation Lab

AI-Powered

Your Draft

Your Situation Description

Missing: stakeholder alignment Missing: specific numbers Missing: timeline

Strengthened Version

AI-Strengthened Situation

The Thompson family (John, 58, and Sarah, 55) hold $2.4M across four uncoordinated accounts — two IRAs, a brokerage, and a 401(k) with a former employer. Their home equity is approximately $800K with $220K remaining on the mortgage. John plans to retire at 63 (5 years), but their current savings rate of $24K/year will leave a $1.2M gap against their desired retirement income of $150K/year. Sarah's mother (82) has early-stage dementia, creating a potential caregiving cost exposure of $60-80K/year that isn't accounted for in any current plan. Both John and Sarah make financial decisions together — John handles investments, Sarah manages cash flow. Their CPA (Robert Chen) has not been involved in retirement planning discussions.

Specific financials Stakeholder map Timeline Risk factors Care cost exposure

Generated Draft

AI-generated first draft

Preview

Drafted from Thompson case notes · 2.4s

John (58) and Sarah (55) Thompson are five years from John's planned retirement and holding $2.4M across four uncoordinated accounts — two IRAs, a taxable brokerage, and a legacy 401(k) at John's former employer. Home equity sits at roughly $800K against a $220K mortgage.

They want to retire on $150K/year of spendable income, but the current $24K/year savings rate leaves a projected $1.2M gap by age 63. No single plan reconciles the four accounts, and no tax strategy has been run against the rollover or Roth conversion windows that open the year John stops working.

Decisions are made jointly — John runs investments, Sarah runs cash flow — but their CPA (Robert Chen) has never been looped into retirement planning. Sarah's mother (82) has early-stage dementia, which introduces a realistic $60-80K/year caregiving exposure that isn't modeled anywhere.

The opening question for Quadrant 3 is whether John and Sarah want to solve the coordination gap first (consolidate + tax plan) or the caregiving exposure first (long-term care funding decision).

Quality Criteria

What makes a strong Situation?

A strong Situation includes:

✓ Specific numbers and financials (not vague)
✓ All stakeholders identified (spouse, CPA, attorney, business partners)
✓ Timeline and deadlines
✓ Current gaps or risks quantified
✓ Who makes decisions and how

Common weaknesses:

✗ Vague language ("they have some savings")
✗ Missing stakeholders (only talking to one decision-maker)
✗ No timeline (when do they need this resolved?)
✗ No quantified risk (what's at stake in dollars?)

How this connects to your score: The quality of your building blocks directly drives your Advice Quality score. Stronger Situation leads to a higher score and more prepared for Quadrant 3. This is what separates a 5/10 from an 8/10.