PROFILE
Lisa Kulhavi is a Certified Financial Planner CFP® with over 29 years of experience in the financial services industry. Lisa originally thought her passion was in the hotel and restaurant management industry, and within weeks of graduating with double major’s in English and Spanish, Lisa headed from the cold winters of Michigan to sunny Orlando Florida for her new job a Walt Disney World. While at Disney, Lisa completed her Master’s in Economics and grew within the company. While working towards the management track, Lisa was selected to go through the world-renowned Disney Management Development Program. Through that exceptional training experience and from the inspirational people she met in the years she was at Disney, Lisa created the vision for the client focused, service-oriented platform she eventually successfully put into practice in the financial services industry.
“At Disney, the guest always came first and there wasn’t such thing as ‘no,’ but rather ‘let’s figure out our options.’ To this day, that is what my team and I focus on for our clients and it will always be our goal to make sure we simplify their lives.”
After 24 years on the corporate side of the financial side of the industry, Lisa and her team were finally able to fully realize their vision. They moved to the independent side of the industry and created their own firm- Meritage Wealth Management.
“Merit and Heritage are the two words that make up Meritage. Merit means the qualities of having value, worth and distinction, while Heritage stands for the principals, ethics, and traditions (or beliefs) that create a legacy. We have used this name to define ourselves for years and it perfectly embodies what we believe in.”
Lisa and her team focus on guiding clients through life’s transitions by using their experience in financial planning specifically in the areas of retirement, estate, tax, long term care, divorce, business succession planning, and wealth management.
Having experienced many of life’s transitions of her own, Lisa’s focus is on transitioning individuals and couples through marriage challenges, and divorces has become a large part of her team’s practice. For 6 years Lisa has been on the board of the Next Generation Divorce Group (NGD). NGD is a collaborative divorce non-profit group aimed at making divorce more “collaborative” and less “litigative” for the long-term health of the family unit and especially for the children.
“It is important for individuals to know there is a strong, experienced support system out there for them who have been exactly where they are. It is our goal to help guide them through what is most likely to be the most challenging moments in their family’s lives. The planning and the decisions they make in this moment will affect future generations and more importantly in their current relationships with their own children.”
Lisa lives in Tampa Florida with her two beautiful daughters Lexy and Kassandra. Lisa’s priority and passion to support her two daughters’ and their “transitions” from fun, loving teens to strong, amazing women also makes Lisa grateful for her past role models. Lisa also loves running in local races, spending time with her inspirational mom, and her girl’s grandmother “Lita,” and flying with her pilot boyfriend Devon.
“There is great comfort and inspiration in the feeling of close human relationships and its bearing on our mutual fortunes – a powerful force, to overcome the “tough breaks” which are certain to come to most of us from time to time.” -Walt Disney
