"LTSLLC" <lizcanotaxservicesllc[at]spymac.com> wrote:

- quote -

You could join a networking group where you can get to know
people in various lines of work who can either help or turn
you on to appropriate people. The purpose of the group, of
course, is for everyone to look for business for everyone
else. It's good for that, too.

Stu

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I try to answer my clients' questions if I can but if its on
a subject I don't know, then I don't really have an answer
for them or anyone I can refer them to. I do have a
brother-in-law that is a CFP but he only takes clients if
they have a high net worth so he is not available for most
people. I also thought of contacting some local CFPs or
lawyers but nixed the idea since I don't have any way of
determining who does good work or doesn't have any
conflict-of-interest issues.

Linda, too bad your class got cancelled. I had better luck
with mine. Several years ago I conducted a class through the
University of Texas' Informal Class division.

It was titled "How to Prepare Your Own Taxes" and was a 2
hour course with handouts and a CD-ROM I made that included
various IRS and SBA tax forms and publications. I used Form
1040 as a guide on topics to cover, from the entity section
to signing and mailing the tax return, and used my 20 years
IRS experience to give insight beyond the line-by-line
instructions.

Despite extensive marketing, less than 20 people signed up
for the class and only 11 actually showed up. The ones that
did show up had quite a few questions about their tax
situation or that of friends or family. 5 of the students
stayed about 30 minutes after the official 2 hour time
period, and I got good feedback from most of the students
concerning how helpful the class was to them. I even had 2
of the students say to me that I had been able to answer
some of their questions that they had never been able to get
help on from anyone else.

I did consider the class a success but unfortunately it was
a one-time event due to other obligations. However, I was
encouraged by the positive feedback and hope to conduct the
class again, along with other classes like how to deal with
an audit and how to conduct tax research.

Rudy
www.LizcanoTaxServicesLLC.com

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Harlan Lunsford wrote:
- quote -

Corrigenda

It was in Friday's paper; not Sunday's rag.

And it was held on Saturday. I did not go.

ChEAr$,
Harlan

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Bill wrote:

- quote -

Just so happened in the Sunday newspaper (Columbus Ledger
Enquirer and NOT that NOO Yawk Times!) about such a free two
hour seminar for elders sponsored by something called the
Urban League.

ChEAr$,
Harlan Lunsford, EA n LA

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Many years ago I made a proposal to my local university
extension program to teach a series of short courses on
Taxes (Your Tax Return, The Investor's Tax Return, The
Retiree's Tax Return). We had to cancel the classes because
only one person enrolled in all of them, the same person, an
IRS agent.

I have suggested to my broker friends that I put on a
seminar for their clients in the same vein but so far
nothing has been arranged. It definitely needs to be done.

Linda Dorfmont E.A., CFP, CSA

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Bill wrote:

- quote -

That's a great question. Professional money managers /
financial advisors will not be interested in accounts under
$500K, well above the median wealth.

I can relate a number of stories similar to yours. I
overheard a banker pushing a customer into a CD vs a
treasury bill telling the customer that the CD was FDIC
insured and the t-bill had no guarantee. In fact the t-bill
at the time had a higher return, is state tax exempt, and,
given the 3 month interest penalty for an early CD
withdrawal, the t-bill's present value wasn't likely to drop
below the CD's at any time.

Lately, I've run into people whose 401k and/or IRA was
properly rolled over into an IRA, but put into a variable
annuity. This should be against the law, none of these
people understood what they were getting into.

To the point, there's no free consulting that I am aware of,
but there's certainly a need for it. In this day of easy
internet access, there are surely enough web sights, or for
the low-tech, many books addressed for the novice. But the
one on one is a tough thing to find. Someone who charges by
the hour is likely priced out of the range of the clients
that need it most.

JOE

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- quote -

Perhaps you have hit on part of the answer. A big part of
the problem is that people don't understand different types
of investments and the tax consequences they create. It
seems that this type information can be provided by tax
professionals like you folks here while avoiding
recommendations for specific stocks or bonds.

- quote -

See above, Why shouldn't you give an Investment 101 course
that focuses only on types of investments and their tax
consequences?

--
Vic Roberts
Replace xxx with vdr in e-mail address.

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an_ordinary_guy_158[at]hotmail.com (Bill) wrote:

- quote -

Some one at the bank passed up an opportunity to enroll the
woman in an IRA and collect an annual maintenece fee
(possibly $50)

On a more serious vein, I am appalled when I look over the
1099B's of some of my Tax-Aide clients. Many are in very
inapproriate investments. Most don't know why they sold
this and bought that and in many cases they haven't had
contact with the advisor listed on the statements.

The sad thing is not only did they have a tax consequence
that they were not expecting, but in many cases some or all
of their Social Security has becomes taxabile.

When asked for advice on investments etc my answer is (a) we
don't give advice (b) referral to the Investment 101 classes
given at the Senior Center.

I'll admit that the class is given by a broker/advisor
hustling for clients but at least they might learn the
basics and the language of investments.

--
Avrum Lapin avrum223[at]nospam.verizon.net
Upland CA Remove NOSPAM from address

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Bill wrote:

(snipped for brevity's sake.)
- quote -

I've long guessed this is and will be a growing issue under
elder Americans now and in coming years.

Trouble with recommending a financial planner is that most
of these (not all I know) also sell financial products (a
real euphemism if I ever heard one), and therefore have a
vested interest, even if they do not charge a separate fee
for "advice".

Some accountants and enrolled agents are likewise allied
with outfits like HD Vest and sell securities to their
clients.

So how about AARP? Don't they have their members' best
interests in mind? Hmmmm, well, not if they also sell
"financial products".

Around here the state has an agency called "Council for the
Aging", something like that. Maybe here is an avenue for
volunteers to help out. But if some program like that IS
established, the volunteers should be carefully screened so
as not to have any affiliations or vested interests. AND
they should definitely be knowledgable about taxes, federal
and state.

ChEAr$,
Harlan

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Bill -- you should re-post this to misc.invest.financial-plan,
a moderated group a lot like this one, except it is financial
planning oriented instead of tax oriented.

--
Rich Carreiro rlcarr[at]animato.arlington.ma.us

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With the prime tax season over, I've been thinking about
issues which arose this year. One of the most troubling
occurred on the very last day of my volunteer work at a
TaxAide site.

A 70ish woman provided me with her tax information, which
included a 1099-R for an IRA -- marked as a total
distribution. She told me this was tax exempt, and to prove
it, she showed me a statement of her "new" bank CD into
which it had been "rolled."

The only problem was, the CD was shown as simply in her
name, with no indication the bank was TTEE for her IRA. I
advised her that it appeared she had "rolled" her IRA into a
simple CD, and that the event was taxable.

"But," she said, "the person at the bank said it was exempt,
because I was putting it into another CD." I carefully
explained the difference between a CD, and an IRA.
Fortunately, the dollars involved were modest (the total IRA
value was a little more than $5K), so she wasn't _destroyed_
financially.

However, she then asked me a stunning question: "Who can I
go to, to get advice about these things? I trusted my bank,
and they seem to have let me down. Can you tell me where I
should go?

I was mute, for a considerable time. I finally stammered
that this was an extremely difficult question, that -- first
of all, _I_, as a volunteer tax preparer, should not direct
her to any specific vendor, broker or financial advisor.

"But," I said, "my first suggestion would be to seek advice
from close relatives or good friends who are financially
savvy. Ask them, if nothing else, where you might go to
obtain a review of your overall finances."

"But I've just moved to Florida in the past 6 or 7 years, my
husband is dead, and all our old friends are back home in
Kentucky."

"Wow," I replied. "That's a difficult situation." I
proceeded to think for what seemed a very long time, but was
probably only a few minutes. I finally said, "Well, if you
don't know anyone well enough to classify them as a trusted
friend, and you have reason to be wary of your financial
contacts, I guess you might ask your best _acquaintances_
for a referral to their Financial Advisor. Lacking any
specific help there, the best thing I can think of, is to
check for licensed CFPs (Certified Financial Planners).
Contact a few of them to see if they offer a discounted
introductory session to briefly review your personal
finances."

I went to to suggest that she resist "free" advice, and be
prepared to spend a "couple of hundred dollars" for a
professional's time. I further suggested that her _payment_
was about the only "guarantee" she might have, since that
would at least put any licensed professional at risk, should
they give bad advice. And, toward that end, I suggested she
request the "review" conclude with a brief written summary
of the professional's overview of her general situation.

But I was astounded at the difficulty I had coming up with a
good answer. And I wondered if my friends at
misc.taxes.moderated might share their combined wisdom, so
the next time I'm hit with that question, I'm better
prepared.

Just _where_ should someone go, when they're not financially
savvy, and they don't have deep roots or close relatives in
the community?

Ideas?

Bill

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