Coordinating with other advisors? Clients depend on it

Most clients rely on a team of professionals to guide them through tax, legal, and financial decisions. Even when everyone is competent and well-intentioned, it can be surprisingly difficult to keep conversations aligned. Clients may hear excellent advice in separate meetings yet still feel as though the plan is fragmented. Unless professionals proactively strive to work together, the client is often left to connect the dots.

Recent Tax Court decisions underscore why charitable giving is an area where attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors not only must operate as a coordinated team rather than in parallel silos but also should consider involving a philanthropic partner – such as the community foundation – as a facilitator.

In both Cade v. Commissioner and Besaw v. Commissioner, the taxpayers’ charitable intent was clear, yet the deductions failed because critical substantiation and valuation steps were missing or incomplete. These cases highlight a common professional blind spot: each advisor may assume that someone else on the team is handling valuation, acknowledgments, and Form 8283 compliance.

Attorneys may focus on structuring the gift and legal compliance, financial advisors on asset selection and timing, and CPAs on reporting the deduction; however, when documentation responsibilities are not explicitly assigned, essential evidence such as qualified appraisals, properly completed forms, and contemporaneous written acknowledgments can fall through the cracks. The result is not simply the IRS’s technical adjustment, but instead the complete loss of the charitable deduction!

This is where collaboration (including working with the team at CICF) becomes especially important. We can serve as a convener for all advisors to structure a charitable giving plan that meets a client’s goals. Additionally, we keep an eye on legal and policy developments. We’ll pass along any important updates to attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors to help determine if any impact their clients.

So, please reach out anytime! CICF is honored to be your first call when you are helping your clients set their charitable intentions in motion. It is our pleasure to support your efforts.