Elevating Your CPA Practice: Why Estate Tax Planning Is the Next Essential Step

For most CPAs, income tax planning forms the foundation of client relationships. But as client wealth grows, so does their exposure to estate taxes—an often overlooked area that, if left unaddressed, can erode wealth and trigger uncomfortable conversations with heirs. Incorporating estate tax planning into your practice not only delivers comprehensive value to clients but also reinforces your role as their most trusted advisor.

At Baker Wealth Strategies, we work alongside CPAs to bridge this critical gap. Our advanced estate planning attorney partners with you to help clients design and implement sophisticated strategies to minimize estate tax exposure, ensure business succession, and coordinate seamlessly with drafting attorneys. This approach ensures a high-quality, efficient process that respects your client’s time and preserves their legacy.

Why CPAs Must Go Beyond Income Taxes

Federal estate taxes remain a significant risk for high-net-worth individuals and business owners. In 2025, the basic exclusion amount stands at $13.99 million per individual. For married couples leveraging portability, that figure can reach nearly $28 million. But many clients—especially those with appreciating assets or closely held businesses—will breach these limits over time.

When a client's estate receives a bill from the IRS after death, the family often turns to the CPA with one question: *How did this happen?* Even though estate tax planning falls outside the traditional CPA scope, clients and heirs don’t always see the distinction. That moment can define—or damage—your long-term client relationship. Asking for a financial statement with your intake forms can ensure you identify these potential risks.

Estate Tax Planning Adds Value and Builds Loyalty

By incorporating estate tax planning into your annual conversations with clients, you proactively identify risk, offer solutions, and position yourself as the architect of their broader tax strategy. You don’t need to become an estate planning attorney—but you do need a trusted partner.

Working with Baker Wealth Strategies gives you access to expert legal counsel that understands how to design trusts, coordinate business valuations, manage generation-skipping transfers, and implement liquidity solutions like life insurance trusts. We help you deliver more than compliance—we help you deliver peace of mind.

Business Succession as a Strategic Imperative

For business-owning clients, estate tax planning is also business planning. Without a succession strategy, estates face liquidity issues, valuation disputes, or even forced sales to pay estate tax obligations. Together, we help clients address these risks through tools like IDGTs, GRATs, buy-sell agreements, and discounted entity transfers—all coordinated with legal and tax professionals.

Painless Process, Powerful Results

Our estate planning process is collaborative and efficient. We respect your relationship with the client, keep you informed every step of the way, and ensure that the client's legal documents match the tax strategy you develop. We work in tandem with drafting attorneys and financial advisors to ensure that everything is properly implemented—without unnecessary friction.

Conclusion: Protect Client Wealth—and Your Professional Reputation

By integrating estate tax planning into your practice, you demonstrate foresight, protect client wealth, and position yourself as the professional quarterback of their long-term financial strategy. You don’t have to do it alone—Baker Wealth Strategies offers the legal depth, through our in-house advanced estate planning attorney, and collaborative process to make estate tax planning both seamless and impactful.

Let us help you safeguard your clients—and your practice.