Meet Your Partner

Timothy J. Belber, JD, AEP®
Principal and Founder of Alchemia

 

 

 

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Formative Years

Growing up in a family with limited resources, I was determined to make the most of myself and the possibilities I had. And as a naturally curious child, I was aware at a young age of how many possibilities there were before me. My high school years were spent in military school, where, in addition to cultivating my leadership, planning and execution skills, I learned to never make excuses and always be prepared. I then attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania to earn my business degree. Many of my colleagues parlayed the same education into a career on Wall Street, but I knew intuitively that the market would neither satisfy my curiosity nor my desire to do good.

I Find My Calling

In 1978, I began counseling self-made families, offering them a different, more expansive way of thinking about their wealth. The work was exciting and fulfilling, and to ensure I could give my clients the best possible counsel, I attended classes at night to earn my law degree from Seton Hall University. I wanted to offer my clients an approach they could find nowhere else. While others in the industry focused on scaring clients into hoarding their assets against every possible threat, I would focus on the positive possibilities available to all family members if their wealth were to be deployed. And where others started and ended with the tools of the trade, using them as a crutch, I would first help my clients create their own vision for their financial future, then connect that vision with the appropriate tools. This is not only a more ethical way to conduct financial and estate planning, it can be tremendously empowering.

As people have grown more determined to live meaningful, centered lives, I am heartened to see interest in my approach increase. Many have sought me out as a speaker and advocate for incorporating ethics and values into long-term financial and estate plans. I’ve authored several articles on these topics and been interviewed for many periodicals, including the Wall Street Journal, all of which prepared me for writing my book, The Middle Way. I am a member of the Legacy Wealth Coach Network, and a founding member of the Collaboration for Family Flourishing, a think tank focused on multigenerational families. And I am also an Adjunct Professor of Graduate Estate Planning at the American College, regularly contribute as a Chancellor at the Purposeful Planning Institute, and have held the Charles E. Drimal Estate Planning Professorship Chair since 2020.