How we work with referring advisors.

Our work is charitable trust taxation, and that's what we stay focused on. We agree on a clear scope up front, in writing. We won't weigh in on, recommend, or pitch:

• Investment management, allocation, or product selection
• Insurance or annuity products
• Estate planning or fiduciary legal advice (attorney's scope)
• General accounting, bookkeeping, or business tax
• Individual income tax services to clients referred to us for charitable trust work
• Charitable structures outside our practice (PFs, donor-advised funds operationally, etc.)

When a client question falls outside that scope, we point them back to you or the right professional rather than weighing in ourselves.

From the introductory call forward, you are copied on all material client communication unless your client specifically asks us to communicate with them directly. We confirm the communication preference on the introductory call.

When we send the client anything substantive, you receive it the same day.

Quick check-ins (status, document collection, scheduling) do not always copy you. If you want full copy on every message, we'll set that as the default.

Engagement fees are agreed before any work begins. Most engagements are fixed-fee:

• Trust planning & design - fixed fee, scaled to complexity
• Annual charitable trust tax administration - fixed annual fee, agreed at engagement
• Major gift consulting - fixed fee, scoped to the vehicle comparison required
• Individual tax preparation - fixed annual fee, agreed at engagement

Hourly billing applies when scope can't be determined, and only after we've sent you and the client a written notice and gotten approval. We do not bill for the introductory call.

We don't pay referral fees, and we don't accept them from custodians, attorneys, or financial advisors. We keep the economics simple on purpose.

At the close of a planning or major-gift engagement, you receive, same as the client:

• A written recommendation memo
• Side-by-side vehicle models with assumptions made explicit
• A short note covering what comes next and who's involved at each step

For trust administration engagements, annually:

• A copy of the filed Form 5227 and beneficiary K-1s (with client permission)
• Annual unitrust calculations and any related notes or instructions
• CRT-specific context to maximize tax-efficiency of investments (with specific client-selected service package)

You're free to forward any of this to the trustee, the client's attorney, or anyone else in the client's team with the client's permission. We work on the assumption that good information shared improves everyone's outcomes.

If the feasibility math doesn't support a CRT, we say so. If the donor's actual situation would be better served by a donor-advised fund, an outright gift, or no charitable structure at all, we say so. We document the recommendation in a memo to both you and the client.

Saying no sometimes costs us an engagement, but it protects the trust you placed in us by sending the client our way. More importantly, we believe serving the client's best interest is always in the advisors' best interest in the long run.