A sale, an inheritance or a payout

When the money arrives all at once.

A business sale, an inheritance or a deferred-compensation payout can arrive in a single week and take a year to decide well. The first job is to keep it safe and settle the tax. The second is to decide what it is for. Only then is it invested, in stages. I do this work with your CPA and your attorney, in that order.

Does any of this sound like you?

A business sale, a deferred-compensation payout or an inheritance has landed, and it is sitting in cash while you decide what it is for.
A sale is months away, and you want the tax and the plan settled before it closes.
You have inherited an IRA and heard there is a ten-year clock on it.
You want to give some of it away, to family or to causes, and to do it well.

If any of these is close to home, a 15-minute conversation is a reasonable next step.

Book a 15-minute call

What happens first, and what waits

Nothing is rushed into the market. The order matters more than the speed.

Tax first: What is owed, when it is due, and estimated payments in the quarter the money lands, worked out with your CPA.
A holding place: Cash and short-term Treasuries while the decisions are made: liquid, and earning while it waits.
What it is for: Spending, giving, family, a home, a next venture: each gets its share before anything is invested.
Investing in stages: A written schedule for moving the rest into the portfolio, set out in your Investment Policy Statement.
Inherited accounts: Most heirs other than a spouse must empty an inherited IRA within ten years, and the timing of each withdrawal decides the tax. Inherited shares and property usually take a stepped-up cost basis.
Giving and the estate: Donor-advised funds, gifts to family and trusts, set up with your attorney and written into the plan.

Questions people ask

What should I do first after selling a business or receiving an inheritance?

Very little, at first. Establish the tax already owed and when it is due, set that money aside, and keep a year of spending in cash. Then decide what the money is for. Only after that is it invested, in stages. Westlight Wealth works through these steps with your CPA and your attorney.

Does Westlight Wealth help with an inherited IRA?

Yes. Most people who inherit an IRA from someone other than a spouse must empty it within ten years, and the size and timing of each withdrawal decide how much tax they pay. Gustaf Rounick, CFP®, plans those withdrawals against your other income, year by year, as part of your plan.

Can Westlight Wealth help with a large deferred-compensation payout?

Yes. A payout that lands in one year can push income into the top federal and California brackets. The plan looks at what can still be timed, what to set aside for estimated tax, and how the money joins the rest of your portfolio. Your CPA prepares the filings; Westlight Wealth plans around them.

Writing on this

What I have written on founders’ sales, estates, trusts and giving.

1 Sep 2025How Founders Can Defer Seven-Figure Gains with a QSBS §1045 Rollover
Startup founders holding QSBS for more than six months but less than five years can defer taxation on gains above the Section 1202 exclusion by reinvesting sale proceeds into new QSBS within 60 days. This Section 1045 rollover carries the deferred gain and the original holding period into the…
31 May 2026Your SpaceX Equity and the IPO: A Calm Plan for a Once-in-a-Career Moment
A calm, practical guide for SpaceX employees: how to handle equity, taxes, lock-ups, and volatility around the IPO — and turn a windfall into lasting security.
1 Aug 2025Guarding Generational Wealth: Trust Strategies to Keep Family Fortunes Intact
This in-depth guide explains why most fortunes fade after three generations and shows how tax-efficient trusts—from credit-shelter and QTIP to dynasty and SLAT—can preserve, protect, and grow family assets for decades. Learn how to pair the new $15 million federal estate-tax exclusion with proven…
6 Nov 2025Taxes, Trusts, and Giving: The Year End Strategy
A focused December roadmap for complex wealth. We cover the moves that matter before December 31—dialing in safe harbor payments, sequencing deductions, evaluating PTET, tightening trust administration, using the 65 day rule, optimizing charitable strategy, and selecting assets for lifetime…
13 Jul 2025Why Estate Planning Still Matters—even After the One Big Beautiful Bill Raised the Estate-Tax Exemption
A complete estate plan still protects your loved ones, saves time and money, and keeps your voice in the room when you can no longer speak for yourself.
12 Jul 2025Securing Your Legacy: A Practical Guide to Estate Planning
Estate planning is simply the exercise of making sure what you worked so hard to build ends up in the right hands, at the right time, with as little cost, tax, and family conflict as possible.

Also: Equity compensation · Retirement inside ten years · Services and fees

A sale closing, or money already in cash?

Fifteen minutes is enough to see what needs doing first and what can wait. No prep, no pressure.

Book a 15-minute call Or send a note

We talk for 15 minutes.You share what’s on your mind. I listen, ask a few questions, and we see if there’s a fit.
You get a clear next step.If there’s a fit, we’ll talk about what an ongoing relationship looks like. If not, I’ll point you toward someone better suited. Either way, you leave with clarity.
No obligation, ever.Fee-only means no commissions and no product sales. You won’t be sold anything.