Raymond Hall, EA

Many families hold an annual meeting about their finances. Whatever else it covers, one part of it can be both short and useful: an annual tax and estate document check-in. Thirty to sixty minutes, once a year, with the right people and a fixed list. The goal is not to decide investment or estate strategy. It is to confirm that the documents are current, that each person knows what they will receive and file, and that anything that changed during the year reaches the preparer and counsel before year end. This post gives an agenda for an annual family tax and estate document check-in, what to bring, and how to record the outcome. It is not a guide to family governance, and it is not tax or legal advice for any person. It is a structure for a meeting that produces a list of actions with names and dates. When and who Hold it in October or early November. Third quarter estimates are paid, extended returns are filed (the extended deadline for 2025 individual returns was October 15, 202...

Families sometimes build an education plan for the next generation covering investing, philanthropy, and family history. Those subjects belong to the family and its advisors. The tax and document part of that plan is narrower and more practical: what a young adult needs to know to file their own returns correctly, read the forms they receive, keep the records they will need later, and work with a preparer. Heirs who learn this early are less likely to miss filings, lose basis, or sign documents they do not understand. This post outlines tax and document literacy for heirs and young adults in households with entities, trusts, or several states. It is not a financial education program, it does not cover investing, and it is not legal advice. It is a checklist of tax skills, in rough order, with 2026 figures where they apply. Stage one: their own return Start with what applies to them now. Filing requirement. A young adult must file if gross income exceeds the standard deduction f...

Parents often put off talking with adult children about family assets because the conversation feels like it is about money, fairness, and expectations. Those are family matters, and no tax preparer should referee them. But there is a narrower conversation that is easier to have and harder to skip: what tax and estate documents exist, where they are, who the children will need to call, and what the children are already responsible for on their own returns. Children who know those facts are less likely to miss a filing, lose a basis record, or learn about a trust from an IRS notice. This post covers what adult children should know about the family's tax and estate documents, and what the parents can share without discussing amounts or plans they want to keep private. It is not family counseling, it does not recommend how much to share, and it is not estate planning or legal advice. Separate the facts from the numbers Most families can share the existence and location of documen...

Families that create an office or a formal management structure often start with a charter: a document stating the office's purpose, who it serves, who makes decisions, and how it is overseen. Drafting a charter is counsel's and the family's work. But a charter also answers questions every tax preparer needs answered, often in places the preparer never sees. Who is the employer? Which entity pays for what? Who signs returns and authorizes payments? Who can talk to the IRS? If the charter and the tax records disagree, the tax records are what the IRS reads. This post covers what a preparer needs from a family office charter, or from any written description of how a household's finances are run. It is not a drafting guide and it does not tell a family what its charter should say. It lists the tax facts a charter should make clear, so the people preparing returns can work from the same page. Seven questions a preparer needs answered 1. Which entity is the office? Nam...

Some advisors describe family wealth in four parts: financial capital (money and assets), human capital (the family's skills and earning power), intellectual capital (knowledge and experience), and social capital (relationships and giving). The framework is about values, and values are not a tax subject. But each of the four leaves a tax and document trail, and families who use the framework often forget that every one of them shows up somewhere in a return, a gift tax filing, or a payroll record. This post maps each of the four kinds of family capital to the tax rules and records that touch it. It is not a values framework, a governance plan, or investment advice. It is a way to make sure the records match whatever the family decides to do. Financial capital: the obvious one Financial capital produces the familiar tax documents: 1099s, K-1s, closing statements, and trust returns. The records that most often go missing are not income records but basis and ownership records: ...