It should be written down, in plain language.
A real financial plan is a written document, not a series of conversations and slide decks. If you've sat through a meeting with an advisor and walked away with a great feeling but nothing you can read at home, that wasn't a plan. The act of writing things down forces specificity, and lets you compare what was said in January to what's actually happening in October.
It should connect, not just list, every part of your financial life.
A list of accounts, policies, and savings rates is a snapshot. A plan is the connections between them: how the 401(k) match fits with the IRA contribution, how the term life policy interacts with the mortgage and the children's education timeline, how the business owner's exit strategy affects when retirement actually starts. If your plan reads as a series of independent recommendations, the plan hasn't been integrated.
It should be specific to you, not pulled from a template.
Templated plans aren't always wrong, but they tend to surface generic recommendations. Ask whether the plan reflects your goals, your family situation, your tolerance for risk, your work timeline, and the trade-offs you're actually willing to make. If you and your neighbor with completely different lives would receive a similar plan, that's a flag worth asking about.
It should be revisited, not filed.
Plans should be reviewed at least annually and updated whenever life materially changes, a job change, a marriage, a birth, a sale, a death, a windfall, a loss. A plan that hasn't been touched in three years is rarely still right. Ask how often the advisor reviews plans, what triggers a review, and what a typical review looks like.
Red flags worth noticing.
A plan that arrives focused on a single product. A plan that doesn't include estate or tax considerations. A plan with implied or stated guarantees about market returns. A plan that doesn't acknowledge risk. A plan that resists being put in writing. None of these are automatic disqualifiers, but each is worth a question.
The bottom line.
A financial plan is a tool, not a one-time deliverable. The right plan is one you'll actually use, that fits your life, that you can read and explain, and that will be there when something changes.
Important: This article is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Clients should consult with their own financial, tax, and legal advisors regarding their specific situation.