While working on 2020 taxes, the returning clients mentioned "this is the first that we've heard about this FBAR thing".
So we showed them an email from our 2019 engagement, where we asked them a slew of non-US interest questions (they live overseas) and they wrote "we purposely keep all non-US bank activity below $10,000".
When we called them on it, they said, "yeah - we were in denial, now we need advice for several years."
They are also ducking our questions about 8938 and other years.
This is an OBVIOUS disengagement - no question there, but the problem we now face is that the taxpayers are in "not one, but two" sensitive protected classes.
Normally, our disengagement reads:
"It has been identified that [we] will not longer be providing services to [you] of any kind. [and you should get with a tax pro right away, etc]"
We don't give a reason, and then, we don't answer any questions.
This time, I'm tempted to put in a reason to make it clear. This is to put it out of their minds that the reason has anything to do with the protected classes.
I fee like the adverse risk of telling them why is worth saving the expense of hiring lawyers to tell them why when the law suit comes because "they don't know why and they suspect that I'm being discriminatory".
I feel like it is a good way to divert any initial suit - and it's the truth.
Do you think that putting in a simple reason come back to haunt me MORE SO than not in this case?