Stephanie has lived in Columbia, SC for over 40 years. Having moved to Columbia at the age of four from Augusta, GA, she attended Chapin High school and graduated from Presbyterian College in 1992. She has worked as a Financial Advisor for the last 20+ years in the Columbia area. Stephanie began her career in 1998 with Robinson Humphrey, a predecessor firm of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. Though she assists all types of families going through a transition, she started Critical Transitions Wealth Advisors in 2014 as a practice specializing in working with Women in Transition; transitions like divorce, retirement, death of a spouse/loved one, or a job change. Though these are not equal in impact, Stephanie knows they all require careful planning and sensitivity to the details and emotions involved.
Training
She is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and has extensive training in the areas of investments, risk management, estate planning, tax planning, education planning, and retirement planning. As a financial planner, she answers her clients’ financial questions. How do I manage my retirement income when I’m older? When should I take Social Security? Can I afford to be my parents’ caregiver or is there a better way? Is my spouse’s divorce proposal a fair settlement to me?
Stephanie is also an Accredited Investment Fiduciary or AIF® giving her additional experience in fiduciary standards to assist investment committee members of retirement plans, plan sponsors, and board members finding themselves in a fiduciary role.
Stephanie has completed a specialized educational program in professional divorce analysis and is a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® practitioner. She is trained to provide financial information and assistance to people going through a divorce. She evaluates the tax implications of dividing property and the financial impact of various settlement options for dividing marital property. She can assist clients in completing the SC Financial Declaration, assist in mediation, and advise on property settlement issues to address client objectives.
Stephanie is a member of the SC Financial Planning Association, Association of Divorce Financial Planners and Greater Irmo Chamber of Commerce. She is a past Vice President of the Columbia chapter of the SC Federation of Business & Professional Women’s Clubs and past board member of NAIFA-SC. Stephanie has been featured on the SC Business Review with Mike Switzer, a panelist and speaker for the various local organizations including the Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network (WREN), Central Carolina Community Foundation, local churches and Women in Philanthropy. She is married to Jason and the proud mother of Anna Caroline. She is an active member of Columbia Crossroads Church. Stephanie serves on the Executive Committee for Women in Philanthropy (WIP) and has chaired their Community Engagement Committee for several years. Her passion to see women engage their financial lives toward economic stability fuels her enthusiasm for her work with WIP and other volunteer opportunities. Economic stability lends itself to the idea of remaining financially sound through a critical event that would typically cause financial difficulty or harm. Her past volunteer work includes Young Life, Epworth Children’s Home, YMCA of Columbia, Transitions Homeless Center and mentoring female inmates exiting SCDC.
Stephanie enjoys family time at the beach, hiking, playing cards, tennis and cooking.
