9APRIL 2025working relationships with tax and legal professionals, I get practically an identical response from all of them, which is an emphatic `YES!' So why does there seem to be this strangely antithetical feeling and approach towards our counterparts in the tax and legal professions? Worry not, dear reader, the rhetorical questions end here and the real conversation begins.Before we address the numerous benefits that collaboration and synergy amongst professionals provide, it is important to address the elephant in the room. Yes, we are talking about taxes, and yes, we are talking about the proper preparation of tax returns by licensed (and insured) professionals within your community. Do not misinterpret any comments in this article to suggest that an advisor should assist in the preparation of those tax returns unless they work within a firm model that allows for this type of co-branded work. If there is ever a question whether an activity, be it one discussed in this article or one of the advisor's designs, involving a client's CPA or attorney violates a firm's guidelines, always confirm with the proper compliance and legal representatives before proceeding. Finally, always defer tax and legal advice to the proper professionals. As I like to remind my team, never forget your seat at the table.As Charles Dickens once famously wrote, `No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.' While it is a far cry from achieving excellence in one's professional pursuit to avoid uselessness, it may not come as a surprise that oftentimes, the limited or perhaps lack of communication between tax, legal, and investment professionals oftentimes can be directly attributable to questions of competency. Many tax professionals I have worked closely with over the years have shared that their primary concern, when determining which advisors to engage with and work collaboratively with, is the inability of said advisors to provide constructive help with the tax professional's responsibilities. From this consistent feedback over the years, I developed simple strategies to engage new CPAs when introduced by a new client. Most tax professionals believe that it is their responsibility to ask for and digest the information necessary to deliver proactive tax strategy advice. However, periodically providing CPAs with a list of top holdings in a client's taxable portfolio that has been sorted by the lowest cost basis positions to highest, would save that CPA time and effort in sifting through a hard copy or digital copy statement to identify them themselves. It shows that you understand their role in the client's overall planning picture and are willing to cede the information and credit for this recommendation for a higher purpose. More importantly, it showcases competency and efficiency, which matters far more to professionals with large books of business and limited time.For those of us old enough to still remember being taught in the old ways, we learned to `do unto others as you would have others do unto you.' Over time, the best practicing financial advisors can take strategies like the one described above and build mutual states of understanding with their tax and legal counterparts. These magical states of understanding resemble that of true partnerships, where open lines of communication flow freely, with a properly signed third-party authorization form of course, and the client only needs to be burdened when decisions are made and acted upon. There is no better time to help a client focus on asset valuations, income generation, and tactical tax-related investment shifts than during the time of year most painfully associated with taxes. So open yourselves to collaboration and demonstrate how not useless you truly are! There is no better time to help a client focus on asset valuations, income generation, and tactical tax-related investment shifts than during the time of year most painfully associated with taxes
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