Many people finding themselves with tax problems are unsure about how to find the right professional to represent their case. Many people simply do not know what questions to ask to ensure that they have a comfortable time dealing with a very uncomfortable situation. Below are six very important things to consider when choosing a tax attorney.

6 Things to Consider When Choosing a Tax Attorney

To help you in resolving your IRS debt

Make Sure They ARE Attorneys. Unfortunately, some companies will lie and say that they have tax attorneys on staff that will help you fix your problem and yet….they don’t – they have no licensed tax attorneys. Many tax resolution companies have the knowledge required to complete and submit basic forms to the IRS on your behalf, but do they possess the legal knowledge to determine if the form will help or hurt your case? If a company says they have licensed tax attorneys on staff, ask for the attorney’s name and bar number. Then look them up. Make sure the state licensing authority agrees that this person is a licensed attorney and their contact information matches the company they claim to be with. If you can’t verify the licensed attorney works there, don’t hire them.
Don’t Fall for a Scam. The world is full of scam artists and the Tax Resolution industry is no exception. If a company is promising you specific results when you talk to them, DON’T HIRE THEM. If a company promises that the IRS will do something, they have no intention of actually helping you; they just want your money.
Check for Complaints. Check review sites to make sure there are not a number of disgruntled past clients complaining about their services. You also may want to try Googling their name combined with the word “fraud” or “scam” and see what comes up. For example: “XYZ Tax Company Scam”. If the person is licensed as a CPA or attorney, check with their licensing authority for any grievances or professional discipline records.
Make Sure You Trust Them. You don’t have to want to invite them to your family picnic, but it needs to be someone that you feel comfortable talking to. You will have to share with this person some very sensitive details of your life (including all of your current financial records and bank/credit card statements and information on any disabilities or medical issues), so make sure it is someone you feel comfortable sharing these details with. If they don’t inspire a feeling in you that you can be honest in speaking to them, this may not be the right person for you.
Make Sure They’ll Communicate with You – the way you want. If you are someone who wants to “hand off” this problem to someone else and not be bothered by it more than you have to, talk to them about this and make sure you understand exactly what they will need from you and how much of your involvement will be required. If you are someone who wants to be kept informed at every step of the way and wants an active role in your case, make sure you discuss this with them as well. Make sure that in the initial contacts with the attorney they are explaining things in a way that you understand; if they are struggling to explain things to you in terms that make sense to you, you might want to look for someone else. Also try testing out their responsiveness – Call or email them before you hire them and see how long it takes them to respond. If they won’t respond promptly before you hire them, they probably won’t respond promptly after you hire them.
Find Out Who Will Be Handling Your Case. Find out who your point of contact will be. If you are thinking of hiring an attorney, ask them who your main point of contact will be. If they say that your main point of contact will be their assistant (or another non-attorney in the office), you have a right to question how much attention your attorney is actually going to give to your case. Do they just hand off the day-to-day matters of your case to their assistant with little or no oversight?
There is nothing wrong with attorneys using assistants to help them work on cases, but if you are paying a fee for an attorney, you have a right to know that the attorney will actively be working on your case. You also want to ask whether the attorney you are meeting with is the one who will be working on your case. Some firms frequently change which attorney is representing a case, which can lead to a lack of consistency. Make sure that you speak to the attorney who will be handling your case and ask how frequently attorneys are changed on cases and what notice you would receive if that happened. It is perfectly fair for you to know and get to speak with the person who will be working on your case before you hire a law firm or lawyer to represent you. Of course, there are plenty of other things you can and should look for but I am highlighting these as they make up most of the reasons I have seen people leave or complain about their tax attorney.

Of course, there are plenty of other things you can and should look for but I am highlighting these as they make up most of the reasons I have seen people leave or complain about their tax attorney.

Six Things To Consider When Choosing a Tax Attorney

Attorney Michelle Wynn