Why coordination on charitable gifts is essential

This article is part of our philanthropic briefing series for professional advisors.

When it comes to charitable giving, lack of coordination can have real consequences. Recent Tax Court decisions underscore why this is an area where attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors must operate as a coordinated team rather than in parallel silos—and should consider involving Fairfield County’s Community Foundation as a facilitator and convener.

Most clients rely on a team of professionals to guide them through tax, legal, and financial decisions. Even when everyone is competent and well-intentioned, it can be surprisingly difficult to keep conversations aligned across disciplines. Clients may hear excellent advice in separate meetings yet still feel as though the plan is fragmented. One professional may focus on documents, another on projections, and still another, on portfolios. Unless these professionals proactively strive to work together, the client is left to connect the dots with little technical expertise.

In both Cade v. Commissioner and Besaw v. Commissioner, the taxpayers’ charitable intent was clear, yet the deductions failed because critical substantiation and valuation steps were missing or incomplete. These cases highlight a common professional blind spot that can contribute to situations faced by the taxpayers in each case: each advisor may reasonably assume that someone else on the team is handling valuation, acknowledgments, and Form 8283 compliance.

Attorneys may focus on structuring the gift and legal compliance, financial advisors on asset selection and timing, and CPAs on reporting the deduction, but when documentation responsibilities are not explicitly assigned, essential evidence such as qualified appraisals, properly completed forms, and contemporaneous written acknowledgments can fall through the cracks. The result likely is not simply the IRS’s technical adjustment, but instead the complete loss of the charitable deduction.

This is where intentional collaboration—including working with the team at FCCF—becomes especially important. Our philanthropy team can serve as a convener for all advisors to structure a charitable giving plan that meets a client’s goals.

What’s more, FCCF keeps an eye on legal and policy developments and provides updates to attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors to determine which developments might impact their clients and what to do about it. To best achieve a client’s goals, charitable planning should be a ongoing process, not just a year-end activity.

Our team is honored to be your first call when you are helping clients set their charitable intentions in motion. Contact Joe Collin, VP of Philanthropy, at JCollin@FCCFoundation.org or call us at (203) 750-3200.