Free Tax Relief Attorney Consultation

How a Free Tax Attorney Consultation Can Help You

How to Prepare, What to Expect, and When to Schedule a Free Consultation

At Damien’s Law, we offer free initial consultations for our tax relief, estate planning, and other legal services. Free consultations are relatively common in the legal world, but they can be confusing to people who haven’t hired a lot of lawyers. Wondering what to expect and how to prepare? Curious if you even need a free consultation? This post dives into those questions. 

What Is a Free Consultation With a Tax Attorney?

A tax attorney free consultation is a free initial meeting with a tax attorney. The meeting costs nothing, and it doesn’t obligate you to hire the attorney. It’s just a chance for you to get to learn more about the attorney and their services to see if they are the right fit for your needs. 

When to Schedule a Free Consultation With an IRS Tax Lawyer

If you’re having tax problems, you should typically start with a free consult. Here are signs you should schedule an initial consult with a tax attorney:

• You owe unpaid taxes and aren’t sure of the most effective way to pay them. 
• You want help applying for penalty relief on your tax bill. 
• You’ve been receiving confusing or threatening letters from the IRS.
• The IRS has threatened to start garnishing wages or seizing assets, and you need help. 
• You have years of unfiled returns.
• You’ve been selected for an audit and want help.
• You’ve failed an audit and want to appeal.
• You owe taxes due to the actions of your spouse or former spouse.
• You don’t want to deal with the IRS on your own. 
• You want to ensure you hire the best tax attorney possible. 
• You want to find a tax attorney who meets your needs.
• You want to learn more about the tax attorney before hiring them.
• You want to know how the tax attorney can help before you hire them.

Unsure if you need to take this step? Keep in mind it’s a free service and you have nothing to lose. If you’re on the fence about even hiring a tax attorney, a free consultation can give you a good idea of how they can help you. 

How to Prepare

If you want, you can just pick up the phone and call for a free consultation, but to make the most of this time, you may want to prepare a bit. 

First, think of a concise description of your problem. Do you have unfiled returns? Unpaid taxes? An incorrect tax assessment? Or some other issue? You want to be able to tell the tax attorney about your problem during a short conversation. 

Second, before you call, make sure you have some basic details about your finances. The attorney won’t necessarily want to dig into every detail, but they will probably want a general overview of your finances so they can start to get an idea of the best relief options for you.

Third, you may also want to think about your goals. Do you want to make monthly payments? Do you want to see if you can pay off the tax debt for less than you owe? Note this is only available to people who don’t have the income or assets to pay in full. Do you want to remove penalties? Make sure the IRS doesn’t take your home or assets? 

You don’t need to plot out your resolution. After all, that’s what the tax attorney is for. But you should have some idea of what you want. 

What to Expect During the Initial Free Consultation

Generally, tax attorney free consultations take place over the phone. Sometimes, you may hear this referred to as a discovery call. Again, it’s just a chance for you to see if you and the attorney are a good fit for each other. 

If you set up a free consultation with a tax attorney near you, you may be able to schedule the meeting in their office. However, to save time, most people still opt to do the meeting over the phone. 

Often, the free consultation won’t be with the attorney. Instead, it will be with one of their employees. The employee will take the basic details noted above, and they’ll let you know if the tax attorney can help you.

Questions to Ask During Your Free Consultation

So, how do you make the most of this time? By asking the right questions and paying very close attention to the answers. Ask about their experience, and make sure they have worked on similar cases as you. See if they can provide you with references or client testimonials. 

Use this time to learn about their processes. Who will be your point of contact at the company? What steps will they take to resolve your case? How will they communicate with you and the IRS? Make sure that an experienced tax attorney team will be handling your case. You don’t want an inexperienced pro, and you certainly don’t want to hire a firm that sells your lead to someone else. Finally, make sure that you understand how their pricing works. 

Also, listen to the questions that the representative asks you. They should also use this time to learn more about you and your tax problems. If they don’t ask any questions but still promise a certain outcome, that’s a sign they may not be a quality firm. Or if they claim that they can help you but you haven’t even told them about the problem, that’s another red flag. 

Beyond that, pay attention to the X factor. How does this phone call make you feel? Do you feel confident about this company’s abilities? Do you feel like you can trust them? Are they willing to answer your questions? Do they seem like they care about getting the best resolution for you? Those are all points you should consider.

Next Steps

After the consultation, you have a few options. If you decide you like that attorney, you can move forward and hire them to resolve your tax problem. If you like them but still want more options, you may want to schedule a free consultation with another tax attorney. Don’t hesitate to schedule these meetings — you can talk to as many attorneys as you want until you find the right one for you. 

In some cases, you may need more details before you can hire an attorney. This is generally only relevant in very complicated cases, but if that applies, you may need to schedule a paid consultation. During this meeting, the attorney will take a more in-depth look at your situation, and they will be able to let you know more about costs and timing. 

FAQs About Tax Attorney Consultations

Do tax attorney consultations cost money? 

Most tax attorneys offer free consultations to new clients, but they don’t all offer free initial meetings. Before having a meeting, make sure that you understand the costs and obligations involved. At Damien’s Law, we always start with a free consultation.

What is a paid tax attorney consultation?

A paid consultation requires you to pay for the attorney’s time. It’s a more in-depth meeting where you talk about your tax problems and solutions. 

What is the difference between a paid and free tax attorney consultation?

One costs money while the other is free. Beyond that, a paid consultation tends to go in more depth. Some attorneys start with a paid consultation. Others start with a free consultation. Then, if you have a complicated case, they offer a paid consultation so that you can get more details about your options before you move forward.

Schedule Your Free Consultation Today

At Damien’s Law, we know how stressful dealing with tax problems can be, and so, we try to make the process of hiring a tax attorney as easy as possible. If you want help dealing with the IRS or your state revenue agency, contact us today. We’ll start with a free initial consultation, and then, we’ll help you end this problem for good.