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13 tips to help you find the best tax attorney

February 21st, 2010 | Tags: Attorney, best, Find, Help, Tips

Donât select an attorneyÂ from the phone book. Do some hard research to find a lawyer to handle your taxes the correct way. Here are 13 tips to help you find the best tax attorney to handle your back filings or tax resolution case.

Whatâs worse than having tax problems? Erroneously hiring the most unsuitable attorney for your case. Handling IRS tax filings has become a volume business for many lawyers, leaving many of them weary and incapable to attend to the detailed circumstances of all their cases. Tax settlement mills â strip-mall operations offering discounted services â have established store-fronts in many places. All this activity means that individuals facing the ultimate financial decision too often find themselves with legal tax services that are substandard to what they expect or need. âThe day of the trial, my attorney doesnât show up,â says Infonow, a junior member of a free law advice forum where tax law, legal ethics and lawyer malpractice is discussed.

Nobody wants a no-show or incompetent attorney, especially when itâs your financial well being hanging in the balance. Thatâs why you need to do some due diligence before hiring a tax lawyer.

Get going on your research

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1. Donât delay.

âAlthough you should not delay consulting a lawyer, you should learn as much as you can about your familyâs finances as soon as possible.â explains Elayne B. Kesselman, Esq, a Former NYS Administrative Law Judge and a Member NYS Trial Lawyers Association. âUnless the lawyer asks for information, resist the urge to go into great detail on the phone about the problems you are facing. Save that for the initial consultation.â Waiting until the last minute wonât leave you enough time to find a good attorney. And it wonât give a good tax attorney enough time to adequately prepare for your case.

2. Donât ask friends for referrals.

Unless your neighbor or fishing buddy has gone through a tax case, he or she wonât have any leads for you. Time is of the essence when searching for an attorney to handle your case, asking a friend will just waste time.

3. Do ask for recommendations from legal professionals.

Ponder who among your network of professional business contacts might know a tax lawyer. If you have a personal attorney, start there. Remind yourself that tax law is a specialty, so if your family lawyer offers to handle the tax case as part of your usual retainer, make sure he knows his way around the IRS tax court.

Also check local or state bar associations or professional organizations. Good places to ask include The National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP), The National Institute of T ax Professionals (NITP), and your local legal aid society. (Legal aid societies wonât handle tax cases, but many keep a running list of tax attorneys.)

4. Investigate Enrolled Agent Certifications.

Many states have requirements for certification of lawyers specializing in tax law. Investigate your state bar or Board of Legal Specialization to make sure that your tax attorney is certified in your state. Find an Enrolled Agent when Possible. Enrolled Agents are the only taxpayer representatives who receive their right to practice from the U.S. government. The principal concern of the National Association of Enrolled Agents and its members is honest, intelligent and ethical representation of the financial position of taxpayers before the governmental agencies.Â

Spend a Day in Court

5. Spend a day at the US Tax Court.

Observing the attorneys in action can give you an idea of the lawyer you want representing you. At the court you also can find out which locals specialize in this specialty of law. And you can get a chance to talk to other individuals with tax disputes. âYou donât need to spend much time in court to quickly find out that most unrepresented taxpayers are not prepared for their day in courtâ writes Fred Hepner, a practicing Texas Attorney and Certified Public Accountant. âGoing to tax court, just to lodge a protest, isÂ a caseÂ that you will lose.â

6. If you are low on funds, find out who sits on the low income taxpayer clinics.

According to Nina E. Olson, founder and former Executive Director of The Community Tax Law Project and appointed the National Taxpayer Advocate in February 2001, âIt has long been recognized that a fundamental unfairness arises within a tax system where some parties to a dispute are denied access to professional representation. With the availability of federal clinic funding, then, many more taxpayers will reap the benefits of professional representation.â

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Look around and pose the right questions

7. Discriminate and evaluate the law firmâs office.

Youâre not looking for how fancy a lawyerâs office is furnished, but how efficient an office it is, as well as the general environment. This office examination can give you essential telltale signs as to how a lawyer would handle your case.

âLook around the office and see how well organized it is. Is it neat, or are there 25 folders spread around the floor?â asks Judge Graves. âYou wouldnât go to a doctor with a dirty examining room and you donât want to go to a lawyer with a disorganized office.

8. Ask questions.

Once you have some candidates, interview them or someone at the law firm. Be sure to ask:

This is an important decision, so if you get ambiguous answers, itâs probably a cautionary signal that this is not the firm for you.

9. Evaluate the responses.

Because tax law is a volume business, the duration that youâll spend working with a specific attorney may be limited. In fact, with most consumer tax cases, the client works with a clerk or a paralegal; your actual attorney wonât come into play until your day in court. The paralegal does much of the work in preparation for trials may have to do the Federal Estate Tax and income taxes. Find out if your attorney who will complete and file the final status reportÂ on your behalf.

10. Go Over Your Role

Go over time frames and filing requirements with the firm, says Rick Hoagland, a partner and shareholder with the CPA firm of Moore, Ellrich & Neal in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Make sure you know what is expected of you; if you do your part, youâll increase your chances of a successful filing. So a lawyer who briefs you on your role is probably a keeper.

Avoid the bargain-basement Tax Attorney

11. Donât hire the cheapest lawyer.

will have a cheaper hourly rate than a great tax lawyer, they canât do what a good tax lawyer canâ says Michael Rozbruch, one of the nationâs leading tax experts. A Certified Tax Resolution Specialist (CTRS), licensed CPA and the founder of Tax Resolution Services.

Verify what the going rate is in your area. Your local bar association probably can help you determine whether a proposed fee is fair and in line with local standards. Anybody who charges too much or too little probably shouldnât be your lawyer of choice.

12. Donât allow for a surprise legal fee.

Question exactly what the costs of tax resolution are. Whatâs included in your lawyerâs fees? Whatâs not? In some complicated loopholes in tax code, for example, a forensic accountant may be needed. If thatâs the case, is it included in your charges or is it an additional fee?

13. Keep involved.

Once you hire a lawyer, donât be content to let him or her handle it alone. Double check all filings. Did any of your deductions get dropped off the list? Keep on top of your tax return filing will help ensure that the proceedings go smoothly and will keep your lawyer on his or her toes.

For additional information visit our tax attorney forum.

TKay is a leading Author for LoanWorkout911, a leading best attorney website. She writes articles about legal solutions that assist those experiencing financial problems:

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