If you've been a financial advisor for a while, you may dream of one day breaking away from the big firm you work for. You may want more autonomy, the ability to set your own hours and use your own financial planning philosophy more when you work with clients. However, starting your own financial advising firm is a big step.

One of the first things you will need to do if you want to successfully start your own financial advising firm is to work closely with a business attorney who understands the financial industry. You will need guidance about many different matters as you launch your registered investment advisor (RIA) business.

Some of the items an attorney can help you with include the following:

• Decide what type business structure you will use (perhaps a limited liability corporation or a partnership agreement if you are launching your business with someone else)
• Assess your business plan and make best practices suggestions
• Help you make all the necessary state or federal regulatory filings for your own firm
• Create templates for individual advisor registration and disclosure forms
• Develop your firm's compliance policies, code of ethics and other business operations forms
• Analyze your current employment agreement that could impact your transition
• Evaluate what intellectual property you need to protect when you launch your financial advising firm

You may be concerned about the costs of getting an attorney's help with launching your RIA firm, but most often attorneys can help you save money in the long run. You can avoid future business disputes with strong contracts and make sure you have proper policies in place when you hire employees with attorney guidance.

You want your financial advising firm to succeed. With an attorney's help, you can take the right steps to make that happen.