Whether you need a San Diego tax lawyer, a tax attorney in San Jose, or someone based anywhere in between, it’s important to ask your potential lawyer plenty of questions before you officially hire him. The best tax attorneys in California will provide great answers to these 3 questions:

1. “Can you guide me through the process?”

Even though dealing with the IRS is just another day at the office for tax attorneys in California, the good ones understand that you’ve probably never been through anything like this before. That’s why the good ones won’t just be your lawyer; they’ll also be a helping hand. They’ll be happy to explain every single detail to you and make sure that you understand exactly what’s going on, and what you can expect down the road.

After all, when you’re dealing with something as intimidating as the IRS, you want to know that you’re in good hands!

2. “Do you specialize in any other type of law?”

Because there are so many different areas of law, the best attorneys are the ones who pick an area and become an expert in it. The jacks-of-all-trades — you know, the ones that can handle your taxes, your divorce, and your car accident case — aren’t experts at anything. They spread themselves too thinly across too many different areas to be the best at any of them. So, when you ask good tax attorneys in California if they specialize in anything else, they’ll say “no”.

The only exception is tax lawyers who are also probate lawyers. Since probate law is very similar to tax law, good tax attorneys can also be very skilled probate lawyers. But if your potential tax lawyer claims to handle anything other than probate cases, tread carefully!

3. “Can you keep the IRS from hounding me in the first place?”

Whether you’re dealing with a good San Diego tax lawyer or a good tax attorney in San Jose, the best answer to this question is “it depends”. If you start working with a good lawyer before things get messy (like before you start up that new business or before you file your tax return), he can make sure that you do everything by the book — and the IRS will have to reason to single you out.

If you’ve already gotten yourself into a mess, even the best tax attorneys in California may not be able to stop the IRS from investigating you. However, they can do a whole lot to minimize the damage.