If someone has prepared your taxes for ten, twenty, or thirty years, retirement can force you to make a professional choice you have not made in decades.
Do not simply replace a name with another name
Your financial life may be very different from when the original relationship began. You may now own a business, have rentals or investments, be approaching retirement, receive inherited assets, file in multiple states, or want proactive planning that was never part of the old relationship.
Ask for records before the practice closes
Obtain copies of prior returns and any client records you are entitled to receive. Ask specifically about depreciation schedules, basis records, carryforwards, elections, and unresolved correspondence.
The search process has changed
There is no longer a Yellow Pages on the kitchen counter where consumers simply “let their fingers do the walking.” Most people now begin online. That gives you access to far more professionals—but it also makes it important to understand credentials and verify competence.
Choose expertise, not proximity
Secure document exchange, electronic signatures, telephone, and video meetings mean your replacement professional does not necessarily need to be local. Look first for the expertise and relationship you need.