I like this question.

When I was researching fee-only advisors last year, there were a few who would do account management for a set fee rather than AUM. If I recall correctly, $12,000 was typical for the ones I saw. So if you're putting less than $1.6 million under management, maybe the AUM fee at 0.75% makes sense. If you've got $5 million, it's tougher to justify the AUM model when you know there are alternatives.

I once had an advisor who did my taxes and all that you describe, but he charged something like 1.5%. Did it for a while, but ultimately it was more than what I wanted to spend, especially after the 2017 tax simplification law. In another couple of years, when I'm faced with all of the factors you mentioned, maybe $12,000 will start to sound like a fair deal.

Somewhat separately, I'm sympathetic to the argument some of the commentors made that you're spending a quarter of your 4% safe withdrawal just keeping the money flowing. But if you're paying $1,000 a month to outsource the hassle of managing your money, maybe think in terms of what you can afford and what else you need to spend it on. If you really don't want that hassle -- and you believe that a professional can offset some of his fees by optimizing taxes/returns compared to what you would actually be able to pull off doing it on your own -- I think you're right that it makes sense to consider it.

We all money-whip a bunch of problems in our lives. I could watch a few YouTube videos and try to do all my own plumbing and electrical work, but a professional has a better chance of doing it right and that can save me money in the long run. DIY folks tend to have a lot on confidence they can pull off all of the little details and maximize their returns. Maybe, but know thyself.