Looking for suggestions

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#1
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For several years I've been telling my husband I would not retire and move back to the mainland (California specifically) until his boat was sold. It's a good sized sailboat that has been in dry dock storage for several years, so more termite fodder than something to enjoy. Anyway, today was the day that it has been sold and now I need to live up to my end of the deal. Aside from selling our home, I need to decide about my business. Attrition over the last few years has reduced my clientele, I'm thinking that I can continue some of it on a remote basis. Any suggestions on how that has worked for others would be appreciated. Another alternative would be to sell it, but I'm not sure if I could sell it, and if so, how. A third alternative would be to offer referrals to clients on others here in town where they could go, an issue there is I don't really know a lot of the local tax preparers. I know a couple who I would caution people to use, but that's probably not particularly ethical.

By making this move, we will be close to our son and his family and the sale of this house should provide funds to be able to purchase a smaller property and have it paid for. All of this has been something we have talked about a lot, but now it looks like moving forward is fairly imminent so I need to actually put a plan in place. BTW, complete retirement scares the bejazus out of me. I can't really reconcile comfortably to having no visible means of support except my retirement funds.

Whew, it's scary to grow up!
 

#2
makbo  
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Well, at least moving from Hawaii to CA you won't have sticker shock on cost of living. CA like HI does not tax social security, so that should help. Hopefully you don't have more than $500K gain on your house. On the downside, even with a fully-paid-for new house, you still will have non-trivial housing costs, the repairs and maintenance it seems never end. Annual property tax will be only a little more than 1% of purchase price.

As for your practice, if you are already paperless, then working remotely should be no problem. For selling, I don't think you have anything to lose by contacting one of the practice sales brokers out there for an initial assessment. Ideally, you would find a local preparer who would work directly with you. Spidell (CA tax education publisher) has a self-study course "Strategies for Success: Selling Your Practice" (37 page PDF textbook) which you might want to purchase at their web site.

Oh, and you still get a moving expense deduction on the state tax return for moving to CA for job-related purposes, so it might pay to keep your practice active for at least a little while after moving. If you are EA, CPA, or attorney, you are exempt from CTEC registration requirement, and finding a few new clients shouldn't be hard if you are in any metro area. If an EA, I recommend connecting with CSEA, as the state has many active local chapters, far more than most states I'm told.
 

#3
FLAcct  
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I can appreciate your angst about moving from Hawaii to the Mainland. I did that 38 years ago and I'm still not over it! The older we get though the more important it is to be close to our children.

As far as your clients go, I would go to see any reputable tax return preparers in your area and discuss the possibility of them buying your client list for the clients you don't think would want to work remotely with you.
 

#4
Doug M  
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My guess is that you would survive 85-90% of your existing practice. And your expertise in HI taxation, something very few people can attest to.
 

#5
ATSMAN  
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What types of clientele did you have? Mostly individual 1040 filings or business clients? Did you do bookkeeping, payroll etc. All these issues have to be factored in. Having said that I know one lady who retired to Florida from MA, but still has around 20 -25 individual clients that she files remotely. She has me help her out with local issues on a as needed basis.
 

#6
makbo  
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makbo wrote:Hopefully you don't have more than $500K gain on your house.

On second thought, cancel that hope. Of course you'd rather have > $500K gain, compared to <= $500K. But you might have to pay some tax on the excess amount, is what I was getting at.
 

#7
novacpa  
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I hope your Son and Daughter-In-Law know of and approve of your plans. Many younger folks cringe at the prospect
of having their Parents move down the block.
 

#8
ATSMAN  
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novacpa wrote:I hope your Son and Daughter-In-Law know of and approve of your plans. Many younger folks cringe at the prospect
of having their Parents move down the block.


They may cringe and not like the idea but it is not their decision to approve. Parents don't need their children's approval :roll:
 

#9
JAD  
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Do your clients meet with you in person? Almost none of mine do. They would be irritated if I required it. I could move to Scotland, not tell 98% of them, and they would not notice. Obviously, it is much easier to keep the client base if it is accustomed to emailing you docs and not meeting in person with you.
 

#10
novacpa  
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ATSMAN wrote:
novacpa wrote:I hope your Son and Daughter-In-Law know of and approve of your plans. Many younger folks cringe at the prospect
of having their Parents move down the block.


They may cringe and not like the idea but it is not their decision to approve. Parents don't need their children's approval :roll:


How wrong you are Atsman - who would want to live next to children who resent their Parents presence. Without express "approval" and "invitation" - I wouldn't consider making the move.
 

#11
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novacpa wrote:
ATSMAN wrote:
novacpa wrote:I hope your Son and Daughter-In-Law know of and approve of your plans. Many younger folks cringe at the prospect
of having their Parents move down the block.


They may cringe and not like the idea but it is not their decision to approve. Parents don't need their children's approval :roll:


How wrong you are Atsman - who would want to live next to children who resent their Parents presence. Without express "approval" and "invitation" - I wouldn't consider making the move.


Very true. My best friends in-laws moved into their neighborhood, two doors down, without talking to them. They immediately listed their house and a year later were living 30 minutes away.
 

#12
novacpa  
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Hahahaha - I'm surprised it's only a 30-minute separation and not 30-hours.
 

#13
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Thanks for taking the time everyone who has offered suggestions. I've also had a couple of interesting private messages. We have a lot of decisions to make this summer, each of you have helped a bit and added something to the process. Interesting discussions between the last four or five posts about parents and kids. It makes me wonder what kind of relationship exists in those family units. Makbo, we will most likely be below the $500,000 threshold, it would be nice if it would go over a little bit and in a few years that might happen. I'll be happy enough to be able to have enough to pay full price for a nice house and have no mortgage payment, just maintenance, insurance and taxes. Giving up our view will be a challenge, going from the ocean to the house across the street will be different but things change. It would be nice to not have an HOA fee, too. Where we are considering, it can go either way. Wherever we land, it will be nice to close the 3000 mile distance from our kids to something easier to handle. BTW, Cali is a return to home - think John Denver and "take me home to the place I was born, mountain momma, take me home." I'm born and raised in So Cal, we moved here from the north Bay Area.
 

#14
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Congratulations on the decision to move! Obviously you can keep working with your current clients if they're already virtual, or you can find a small firm where you move to and work part-time during tax season. The world is your oyster!

As far as the "proper" distance with parents/children, it's different for everyone. I live about 100 or so miles away from my parents, which is close enough to visit but far enough to have a barrier. But that works for me :)
 

#15
makbo  
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missingdonut wrote:I live about 100 or so miles away from my parents, which is close enough to visit but far enough to have a barrier.

In a big metro area with traffic congestion (such as LA or SF-Oakland-SanJose), even 45 miles can be a barrier. But at least they are finally implementing toll roads (previously known as carpool/HOV lanes) on some of the major "free"ways.
 

#16
CathysTaxes  
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makbo wrote:
missingdonut wrote:I live about 100 or so miles away from my parents, which is close enough to visit but far enough to have a barrier.

In a big metro area with traffic congestion (such as LA or SF-Oakland-SanJose), even 45 miles can be a barrier. But at least they are finally implementing toll roads (previously known as carpool/HOV lanes) on some of the major "free"ways.[/quote

Toll roads are a PITA. You will find frequent toll increases.
Cathy
CathysTaxes
 

#17
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Just to put the minds of some people at rest, we just came back from a visit with our kids. Spent a few days driving around checking out open houses and new subdivisions, with them. They agree that asking for your kids permission to move is kind of silly. They were even talking about us buying the home directly across the street from them, which for me would be a little too close. After driving around various parts of where they live, some closer to them than others, I asked where they thought we should live. Even my DIL, who has been a challenge over the years, wanted us to be closer rather than farther. My thought is that we should live close to the quilt shop. Anyway, we are back and making lists and decisions. I have a surgery coming up, not serious, just repairs to various parts of me, then we will be moving forward. Sometimes I wish there was a certain reality to parts of Star Trek and/or Harry Potter. It would be so much easier.
 

#18
ATSMAN  
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I grew up in a neighborhood where my uncle, aunt, grand Ma lived within 5 miles of each other. It was fun to have cousins to play with and grandma loved it when we went to her house. I hope I get that opportunity when I become a Grandfather :)
 

#19
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That sounds so cool Atsman. I grew up near to many of my cousins, but by the time I was a teenager, the family had dispersed and my grandparents weren't particularly healthy. My own GK's are both in college now, but I'm looking forward to being able to see them more often when they come home and not having it be a major event. And also to being able to just have coffee and a visit from my son, I find that I miss him more as time goes by.
 

#20
ATSMAN  
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And also to being able to just have coffee and a visit from my son, I find that I miss him more as time goes by.


After my youngest child moved out, we felt the pain of empty nesters. Particularly when I would cook something that my children enjoyed and I felt guilty enjoying it all alone :cry:
 


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