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Make Sure Your Golden Years Are Truly Golden.

Your customized investment strategy, estate plan, and long-term care, handled by a team with decades of experience in financial planning and elder law.

The BIG 3 Way

At Big 3 Planning, we bring together financial planning, long-term care strategy, and 27 years of elder law expertise in one place, so the gaps that catch most families off guard never catch yours. 

Protecting What You Built

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You spent decades building what you have. Long-term care costs, estate planning gaps, and poorly structured portfolios are the three things most likely to undo it. We protect it by planning for all three.

One Conversation Instead of Three

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Stop juggling an attorney, a financial advisor, and an insurance agent who do not talk to each other. We handle all three under one roof, so the decisions actually connect, and you only have to tell your story once.

A Legacy Your Family Can Count On

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Most people want two things: to not outlive their money and to leave something meaningful behind. We plan for both, so your family is never guessing and never managing a crisis without a plan.

The Long-Term Care Conversation Most Advisors Skip

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There is a 70% chance you will need some form of long-term care in your lifetime. In Arkansas, nursing home costs run $8,500 to $10,000 a month. We have this conversation with every client, early, while there is still time to plan instead of react.

A Plan You Actually Understand

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We take the time to explain what is in your plan and why it is there. Most people leave their first conversation with us saying they wish they had done this sooner. That is the point. You should know exactly what you own, why you own it, and how every piece fits together.

A Legal Lens Most Advisors Miss

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Our founder, Todd Whatley, is one of only four Certified Elder Law Attorneys in Arkansas and roughly 500 in the country. He is a former president of the National Elder Law Foundation. That background changes every financial recommendation we make, because it sees the estate, the tax exposure, and the long-term care risk at the same time.

Our Services

We are located in Northwest Arkansas but serve people across Arkansas and across the country who are approaching or already in retirement and want one team that understands the whole picture. Three disciplines, five services, one team. The decisions in each one inform the others, so nothing falls through the cracks.

Financial Planning
  • Build a customized plan that covers income, taxes, investments, insurance, and estate considerations in one place.
  • Map out when to claim Social Security, how to draw down accounts, and how taxes affect each decision.
  • Update the plan as your life, your family, and the markets change.
Wealth Management
  • Get a portfolio designed around your actual risk tolerance, not a generic age-based allocation.
  • See how your investments hold up across 12 different market scenarios.
  • Know exactly what you own and why every piece is there.
  • Quarterly check-ins to keep your portfolio aligned with your plan.
Retirement Planning
  • Travel, spoil the grandkids, take on the projects you have been waiting for. We make sure the plan supports the life you want.
  • Build a plan around not outliving your money.
  • Cover the costs most advisors never mention: long-term care, family support, and estate transfer.
Long-Term Care and Life Insurance
  • Build long-term care into your plan before you need it, while you still have every option on the table.
  • Compare long-term care insurance, hybrid policies, and self-funding to find the right mix for your situation.
  • Cover the costs that most insurance and savings strategies leave exposed.
  • Protect your spouse and your family from carrying the financial weight alone.
Estate Planning Guidance
  • Understand where your estate plan and your financial plan could work better together.
  • Work with an advisor with decades of experience reviewing estate documents and catching the gaps.
  • When documents need to be drafted or updated, get a referral to Generations Legal Group and a coordinated process so the legal and financial pieces stay aligned.

Our Services

We are located in Northwest Arkansas but serve people across Arkansas and across the country who are approaching or already in retirement and want one team that understands the whole picture. Three disciplines, five services, one team. The decisions in each one inform the others, so nothing falls through the cracks.

Financial Planning
  • Build a customized plan that covers income, taxes, investments, insurance, and estate considerations in one place.
  • Map out when to claim Social Security, how to draw down accounts, and how taxes affect each decision.
  • Update the plan as your life, your family, and the markets change.
Wealth Management
  • Get a portfolio designed around your actual risk tolerance, not a generic age-based allocation.
  • See how your investments hold up across 12 different market scenarios.
  • Know exactly what you own and why every piece is there.
  • Quarterly check-ins to keep your portfolio aligned with your plan.
Retirement Planning
  • Travel, spoil the grandkids, take on the projects you have been waiting for. We make sure the plan supports the life you want.
  • Build a plan around not outliving your money.
  • Cover the costs most advisors never mention: long-term care, family support, and estate transfer.
Long-Term Care and Life Insurance
  • Build long-term care into your plan before you need it, while you still have every option on the table.
  • Compare long-term care insurance, hybrid policies, and self-funding to find the right mix for your situation.
  • Cover the costs that most insurance and savings strategies leave exposed.
  • Protect your spouse and your family from carrying the financial weight alone.
Estate Planning Guidance
  • Understand where your estate plan and your financial plan could work better together.
  • Work with an advisor with decades of experience reviewing estate documents and catching the gaps.
  • When documents need to be drafted or updated, get a referral to Generations Legal Group and a coordinated process so the legal and financial pieces stay aligned.

Our Approach

Step 1: We Start by Listening

The first conversation is about understanding your full picture. We want to hear about your family, your finances, and what has been on your mind. There is no pitch and no portfolio to sell. We want to know whether we are the right fit for your situation before we make any recommendations.

Step 2: We Show You Where You Actually Stand

To start analyzing your situation, we run two things:

  • A risk assessment to understand how much market risk you are comfortable with.
  • A stress test that shows how your current portfolio holds up across 12 different scenarios.

Seeing both together gives you a clear picture of where you stand, which is what frames up everything that comes next.

Step 3: We Build a Plan That Covers the Whole Picture

Once you decide to move forward, we build a plan that fits this stage of your life. Your investments, your estate, and your long-term care are handled together, so nothing falls through the cracks. We finalize it together, so you understand every decision and feel good about where you stand.

Step 4: We Stay With You as Life Changes

We meet with clients quarterly to make sure the plan still fits. When something shifts, whether that is a change in your estate, health, or finances, you have a team that understands all three sides of your picture.

Our Team

Todd Whatley, J.D., CELA
Founder | Financial Advisor | Certified Elder Law Attorney

Todd founded Big 3 Planning to do something he could not find anywhere else for his clients. Financial, retirement, insurance, and estate planning, all handled by one person. He holds a Series 65 financial planning license and an insurance license, and has practiced elder law for 27 years. He works with clients on either side of retirement on everything from portfolio design to long-term care planning to passing on what they have built.

Todd has spent his entire career working with people in this stage of life, and he has seen it from every angle. As a physical therapist, he saw the reality of aging up close. As one of only four Certified Elder Law Attorneys in Arkansas and former president of the National Elder Law Foundation, he’s helped families work through estate decisions, long-term care, and the legal questions that come with later life. After decades of watching financial advisors leave clients in portfolios that made no sense for their situation, he founded Big 3 Planning so the full perspective would be in the room from the first conversation.

He is based in Bentonville and works with clients in Northwest Arkansas and across the country.

Fabiana Boscan
Operations and Client Support
Fabiana keeps Big 3 Planning running. She manages scheduling, client communications, and the day-to-day operations that allow Todd to focus on doing his best work with clients. If you reach out and need something handled quickly, Fabiana is the person who makes sure it gets done. Detail-oriented and genuinely invested in the experience of every person who works with our team.

Our Strategic Partner

When you work with Big 3 Planning, you have an entire team behind you. Our partnership with Sollinda Capital Management brings institutional-caliber investment management, comprehensive technology, and up-to-date market expertise to every plan and conversation.

This partnership allows us to do what we do best, listen, build relationships, and provide personalized financial guidance, while giving you access to resources that most clients only find at much larger institutions.

Investment Management

  • Proprietary portfolios managed by experienced investment professionals
  • Access to institutional-caliber liquid investment strategies
  • Ongoing portfolio monitoring, rebalancing, and risk management
  • Timely market commentary
  • Regular market insights and analysis to keep your plan informed and current
  • Direct access to portfolio managers for strategy discussions when it matters

Technology and Operations

  • A seamless, integrated platform for account management and reporting
  • An enhanced client portal and mobile app so your financial picture is always within reach
  • Comprehensive financial planning tools that help us build and maintain your plan with precision
  • Efficient onboarding and account processes that respect your time

Institutional Support

  • A dedicated operational team handling the behind-the-scenes work so we can focus on you
  • Compliance and regulatory oversight built into everything we do
  • Access to family office level planning resources when your situation calls for it