This column discusses some of the difficult and emotional issues that can come up for estate planners whenever a client’s family members get involved. Oftentimes client’s children will want the estate planner to provide them with their parent’s financial information. This column discusses instances where a client’s child brought in their parents tax return or a parent wanted the estate planner to fill out a return for their child. An estate planner must often have written consent from a client before disclosing their financial information to one of their family members. It is also important for estate planners to avoid getting entangled in a client’s family disputes.
See Jeff Stimpson, Blood Feuds: Handling Clients’ Families, Accounting Today, September 28, 2015.
Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
