Leaderboard

If you only had to pay 20 %, you received quite a bargain.

So be it! At my age, I am not as interested in value as I am in quality and the trust that my family of clients has built up over the years.

I would take a step away from advocating the creation of a corporation--just give advice on pros and cons from a tax perspective and tell them to confer with a lawyer.

Yeah, there's a lot of information missing for this decision.

yes, deals I've seen involved multiple years. I like the premise of paying a percentage of the revenue the new clients brought in, but it does involve trust. I inherited another practice from an office mate at no charge; they were only concerned with where their clients would land. However, I ended up paying rent on extra space for a year as they gradually moved their stuff out.

On the other hand, there may legitimate reasons due to legal liability to have the business assets split between the 2 LLCs We just don't know enough.

Yes, that has been a consideration. However, she has nowhere to go and no equipment. I will not allow her to continue working from my office and using my equipment since it is attached to my home. She has good work ethics; is a quick learner and could move forward to being very successful in work that she loves, as I do. The present problem is that she has no location in mind yet and I am urging her to make a plan (just in case). Other preparers that I have considered selling or merging my business to, have gotten big heads and the larger they grow, the more expensive they become. I don't want that for my clients. I plan on working as long as I am able. It is definitely time for a Conversation with my Assistant.

had a colleague across the hall from my office who was getting out and wanted to refer all his clients to me. Money was never brought up until the last minute, when he inquired as to his compensation. I said I'd pay him 20% of the fees I collected from his clients who had me prepare their taxes (first year only). Funny moment when I provided him with a spreadsheet, he wanted to know why I hadn't charge this particular client more--I said that it was a really simple return and he responded, "Yes, but he was USED TO PAYING MORE."

glad to hear that it's coming from a lawyer. We have to watch out for practicing law (and what our insurance will cover). And this is much better than the usual scenario where the client tells you in March what they did last June.

The original post doesn't really give us enough information for us to know what the best approach would be

Marilyn, I'm sorry about the worsening of your eyesight. You clearly still enjoy the work and have a level of care and concern for your clients and your trainee that many in business lack. Your client base is stable and large enough to have substantial value, so perhaps now is a good time to reevaluate your plan while you have time to implement some changes so that you remain in the controlling position "for [when] whatever comes." Our core group here has been around here for many years and are possibly seeing a future that includes retirement, but I wonder how many of us truly have a clear and workable plan in place. I've been out of the office recently and am late to the party, so I've tried to filter through to boil down to focus on some of the issues, some of the conflict, and the questions it raises that more than a few of us possibly should consider for our own practices. The trainee: very knowledgeable, could be successful, stagnant, complacent, no preparations to take over or move on. Your practice: 279 clients this year, a mixed practice including many Sch Cs, no payroll or other entities. RTRP, office in home. Comments you've made about the plan: Previously set at 80, will be 85 soon, still like the work, ~five years preparing [the trainee], not going to hand it over on a platter, made things too easy for her, clients would go with her willingly, preparing for whatever comes, will never willingly walk away until I have to. I don't expect answers, but the questions and considerations that immediately came to mind are below. Certainly there are more - * With your having exceeded the original age 80 goal, have you set a new age goalpost? * How does "will never willingly walk away until I have to" jive with a clear plan of succession for any new owner? * How would you handle a transition period to any new owner considering you operate from home? * Have you actually discussed terms of a buyout with your trainee? * Does she think she can wait you out and step in with little to no investment other than the time she has already put in? Did she sign a non-compete agreement? * Is it possible that her complacency or apprehension stems from perceived or real conflicts or difficulties in future? : your shifting retirement age goal; relocating out of your home office; fears of being a business owner, financial commitment, client retention, proficiency or personal insecurities, of failure in general. * Does the trainee truly have the desire and motivation to be a sole business owner in this line of work? Some of the best employees or most technically proficient aren't cut out to be business owners. Have you thought about possibly shifting to a sale/merger with a firm or someone other than your trainee that may be a better solution work-wise and financially for both you and your trainee? It would allow you to move the practice out of your home and possibly scale back on hours or hands-on work as the load shifts to others while being a familiar face to clients in the transition. It may also provide continued employment for your trainee if seen as a valued employee also known by your clients, and a solution that the trainee may be more comfortable with as well. Sorry this is so long. It isn't an easy business to be in and is being made more difficult every day with the added challenges of health, aging, technology, security, ever changing tax laws, and long hours. I wish you well in going forward.

Longevity is hidden somewhere in my genes as well. However, I am off to the Forest for a week to draw some renewal from the trees and flower garden. I will be in touch daily. Have a wonderful week all.

Update: We cloned the hard drive this afternoon. All went well. Installed the clone and it worked perfectly and passed all the tests. Removed the clone and installed the original hard drive. Again, all is well. The clone is now in a safe place and all systems are go. I have the best IT person ever. He is a client of mine. I take care of his business and he takes care of mine.

The big health insurance companies, pharmacy benefit managers and especially Medicare Advantage Plans are destroying our health care system. As long as they make record profits, they don't really care about the patients and the medical providers. Small rural hospitals and independent pharmacies are going out of business all over the country due to reimbursement rates that are way to low to even keep their doors open.

Everybody has a pre-existing issue. For-profit insurance companies make a living denying us coverage so they can pay dividends to their shareholders. It's the worst example of capitalism applied to a public good.

I plan to live to 100 or even more. Plenty in my family have, with being able to drive and work close to that age too. Primary focus now is getting our daughter's benefits to the max we can, then we reset. Same as having an estate plan for now, when she is subject to means testing, then rewrite when her means testing goes away. For the desktop organization issues, relying on the IS has never been my style. I currently use Stardock's Fences. It keeps my shortcuts in the places I want, from monitor to monitor. I have used their taskbar software too, to keep that area looking the way which works for me.

Anyone can buy health insurance and my wife works at a major university - they will allow us to continue our current insurance inside their plan and we pay their cost (it's a benefit they pitch to employees). With Obamacare eliminating the pre-existing condition problem, getting health insurance isn't an issue. We don't have a pre-existing issue but you never know.

I would guess her financial plan includes low enough income from years 60-65 to qualify for ACA insurance. That is a strategy I see a lot of people taking. If you have enough stashed to live off of and only generate interest/CG to get you above poverty level and below 200%, you get basic medical insurance for free. Smart planning IMHO. Tom Longview, TX

I agree! At first I didn't know if I was going to use it, but when I tested it out on a couple, it was perfect. I have never had to file so many extentions in my 30+ years doing taxes as I did this year. I was very happy to see the bult extentions and that it worked flawlessly.