Do you have an office in Austin?

Aequitas is intentionally virtual-first — secure portal, encrypted video, digital signatures. That keeps fees lower and lets us serve LGBTQ+ clients across Austin (and the rest of the country) without geography limiting access.

How does moving to Austin from California or New York change my planning?

Meaningfully. You lose access to CA/NY state deductions but pick up no state income tax — which shifts Roth-vs-traditional math, changes RSU sale timing, and creates real part-year-resident traps if you move mid-year. On the legal side, second-parent adoption and estate documents that travel across state lines become higher-priority than they were on the coasts. We plan for both sides of the move up front.

Do I have to live near you to work with Aequitas?

No. We work with LGBTQ+ clients across the United States entirely virtually — secure document portal, encrypted video meetings, and digital signatures. The plan is the same whether you're a block away or across the country.

What does 'fee-only fiduciary' actually mean?

Fee-only means we are paid directly by you — no commissions, no product sales, no kickbacks. Fiduciary means we are legally required to put your interests ahead of our own. Together they remove most of the conflicts of interest baked into traditional financial advice.

Is there a minimum account size?

No asset minimum. Engagements are priced based on planning complexity, not portfolio size, so we can work with high earners who are still building wealth — not just clients who already have it.

How is this different from a generic financial advisor?

LGBTQ+ planning isn't a side specialty — it's the practice. Marriage-penalty modeling, surrogacy and IVF cash flow, second-parent adoption, beneficiary audits for chosen family, and the legal patchwork queer couples actually live with are baked into every engagement.

LGBTQ+ couple at home reviewing financial plans together

LGBTQ+ Financial Advisor · Austin

LGBTQ+ financial planning built for Austin

Q: How do I get started?

Schedule a free intro call. We'll walk through where you are, what you're trying to figure out, and whether an engagement makes sense. Zero pressure — most calls end with a recommendation, not a pitch.

South Congress, East Austin, and Hyde Park anchor a fast-growing LGBTQ+ community pulled in by tech, music, and a lower cost of living than the coasts. Aequitas works with Austin queer clients on planning that handles Texas's specific legal and tax quirks — without sugarcoating them.

Schedule a free intro call

Why local LGBTQ+ households work with us

Why Austin LGBTQ+ households deserve their own advisor

Austin's LGBTQ+ population has grown significantly with the tech migration — Apple, Tesla, Oracle, Google, and a deep startup bench — and the planning surface looks different from California or New York. No state income tax helps. Texas being a community-property state with weaker statewide LGBTQ+ legal protections complicates things in the other direction.

For same-sex couples, the community-property piece changes how titling, gifting, and step-up basis work — usually in your favor if it's planned, against you if it isn't. And parental rights for non-biological parents are not something to leave to assumption: second-parent adoption is the gold standard here, regardless of how the birth certificate reads, and it should be done before it's politically convenient to challenge it.

Aequitas treats Austin LGBTQ+ planning honestly: the tax math is genuinely friendlier than CA or NY, the legal protections require more active work, and a virtual-first fee-only fiduciary lets you skip the parts of the local industry that aren't built for queer households.

Whether you moved here for the Apple campus, the music scene, or the Hill Country cost-of-living arbitrage, the comprehensive plan needs to handle the specifics: RSU coordination without the state-tax cushion CA gave you, cash-flow room for family building, and legal estate documents that hold up if you travel to less-protective parts of the state.

Explore Austin

Jump to the Austin planning topic you're here for

See all Austin pages

Surrogacy Financial Planning in Austin LGBTQ+ Estate Planning in Austin Same-Sex Couples Financial Planning in Austin Austin tax & cost guide Tech relocation planning (Austin)Austin startup equity planning (Austin)South Congress East Austin Hyde Park

The LGBTQ+ safety premium

The real cost of living somewhere you can be yourself

East Austin, South Congress, Hyde Park, and Bouldin cost more than the suburbs and outlying Hill Country — and for good reason. Being visible outside the urban core in Texas is a different experience than being visible inside it, and the plan should treat where you live as a fixed input, not a luxury to trim.

Housing premium vs. outer Round Rock / Buda / Kyle

~$700–$1,200 / month

Annual cost (no TX income tax; federal only)

~$8k–$14k / year of gross income

What it typically displaces

Roughly one IVF cycle per year, or 12–18 months off a first-home timeline

You didn't move to Austin to end up commuting into a place where you can't hold your partner's hand. The premium buys community and safety — the rest of the plan gets built around that, not against it.

Build a plan that respects where you live

What we plan with Austin LGBTQ+ clients

Tech equity without state income tax

RSU and ISO sequencing for transplants from CA or NY — capturing the TX no-income-tax window while it lasts and avoiding part-year-resident traps.

Parental rights & second-parent adoption

Documents that protect a non-biological parent in Texas — done proactively, not after a family-court fight.

Cash flow & dual-income coordination

Two high earners means two paychecks, two benefits packages, and two sets of decisions. We map them into one plan that respects both partners' goals.

Tax planning for partners & spouses

Filing-status modeling, RSU and equity-comp coordination, and proactive moves around the marriage penalty — not a return drop-off in April.

Investing aligned with your values

Low-cost, evidence-based portfolios that can also screen for LGBTQ-friendly employers, ESG, or whatever 'aligned' means for you.

Estate & beneficiary protections

Wills, trusts, healthcare directives, and beneficiary audits so the people you actually chose are protected — not the people state default rules pick.

Same-sex partners discussing their financial future

Related planning pages

Equity compensation & comprehensive planning
RSU, ISO, ESPP, and pre-IPO planning coordinated with tax, cash flow, and everything else in your financial life.
LGBTQ+ estate planning in less-protective states
Second-parent adoption follow-through, healthcare directives, and documents that hold up if you travel or move — extra-important where statewide protections are thinner.
Surrogacy & family-building financial planning
IVF, surrogacy, and adoption costs modeled honestly into your cash flow — so growing your family isn't financed on hope.
Financial planning for same-sex couples
Two paychecks, two benefits packages, the marriage penalty, and titling decisions — mapped into one plan that respects both partners.
See all services →

From the blog

Why Gay Men in Tech Need a Gay Financial Planner
RSUs, equity comp, and the planning questions specialist advisors actually understand.
5 Legal Documents Every LGBTQ+ Couple Needs
The non-negotiable paperwork that protects chosen family — and why it can't wait.
How LGBTQ+ Couples Can Plan Ahead in Uncertain Times
Protective planning moves when the legal and political ground keeps shifting.
Visit the blog →

FAQ

Frequently asked questions — Austin LGBTQ+ planning

In Austin

Specialty planning for Austin LGBTQ+ households

Dedicated planning pages for the topics Austin clients ask about most — each one built around the local tax, legal, and cost picture, not a generic template.

Surrogacy Financial Planning in Austin

Surrogacy planning for Austin LGBTQ+ intended parents. Real cost modeling, financing, and tax planning from a fee-only fiduciary.

LGBTQ+ Estate Planning in Austin

Estate planning for Austin LGBTQ+ couples and families. Wills, trusts, directives, and beneficiary audits that protect chosen family.

Same-Sex Couples Financial Planning in Austin

Fee-only planning for same-sex couples in Austin. Marriage-penalty modeling, filing status, benefits, and equity comp for two careers.

Free guide

LGBTQ+ tax & cost-of-living guide: Austin

State income, property, and estate tax plus LGBTQ+ planning overlays for Austin households — from a fee-only fiduciary.

Read the guide

Austin neighborhoods

Neighborhood-specific pages for Austin — local housing, community, and planning notes for each area we work with clients in.

South Congress East Austin Hyde Park

Life-event planning in Austin

Situational planning pages for the industries and moments that shape Austin LGBTQ+ households — each written around the local tax and comp picture.

Tech Relocation Financial Planning for Austin LGBTQ+ households

Tech Relocation Financial Planning for LGBTQ+ households in Austin. Fee-only fiduciary planning, virtual-first, no minimums.

Startup Equity Planning for Austin LGBTQ+ households

Startup Equity Planning for LGBTQ+ households in Austin. Fee-only fiduciary planning, virtual-first, no minimums.

About the advisor

Aequitas Financial was founded by Taylor Bell, a fee-only fiduciary planner. LGBTQ+ planning isn't a side specialty here — it's the practice.

Ready to talk through your plan?

On a free intro call we'll walk through where you are, what you're trying to figure out, and whether an engagement makes sense — no pressure.

Schedule Your Intro Call