Jason McDonald, Accredited Domestic Partnership Advisor and Vice President Investment Officer, Wells Fargo Advisors in Austin, Texas, addresses the unique financial challenges faced by domestic partners. This is the fifth article in a continuing series.
When I tell someone that I hold the Accredited Domestic Partnership Advisor (ADPA) designation, I usually get one of three responses: “What is that” “I didn’t know that existed.” “Why would someone need that” The ADPA designation is fairly new and not many people are familiar with it.
The ADPA designation was created jointly by Wells Fargo Advisors and the College for Financial Planning, to help financial advisors address the unique financial needs and considerations of domestic partnerslesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and heterosexual clientsas they plan for their financial future. Heterosexual couples who have chosen not to marry may wish to consider an ADPA-designated advisor as well. Since there is no legal recognition for domestic partners under federal law, the “rules” that apply to married heterosexual couples are not the same as those that apply to domestic partners. The ADPA program helps to educate financial advisors on some of those differences and also provides a resource for those in a domestic partnership to identify the few financial advisors who have been trained and certified on key issues affecting domestic partners.
