How a Wealth Strategist Works With Your CPA and Attorney
TL;DR
Sam Prentice designs the wealth and tax strategy, then the client hands it to their own CPA and attorney to implement. He gets the client clear on their goals in a recorded session, writes a brief the client sends to their professionals, and coaches the decisions. The licensed professionals own the execution the law assigns to them.
This article is general tax education. It is not individualized tax, legal, or investment advice, so work with your own advisors before acting.
Founders who reach a wealth strategist usually already pay a CPA and often an attorney. The common question is how a third person fits without stepping on those roles. The answer sits in a clear division of labor: one person designs the plan, and the licensed professionals carry it out.
How does a wealth strategist work with your CPA and attorney?
A wealth strategist designs the strategy, then the client hands it to their own CPA and attorney, who implement it within their licensed roles.
Sam Prentice describes the model as coaching the decisions and coordinating the team. He does not manage assets, sell financial products, or file returns, so the work stays with the professionals the client already trusts. His job is to design a cohesive strategy across tax, entity, and asset-protection questions, then help the client communicate that strategy so each professional can act on it. Cornell Legal Information Institute frames tax planning as the lawful use of the tax rules to reduce liability. The available choices depend on the taxpayer's own facts, so the process starts with the client's goals.
Who is responsible for what on your financial team?
Each professional owns a different job: the strategist designs, the client directs, and the CPA and attorney handle the licensed work.
My Wealth CEO does not replace the CPA, attorney, or a fiduciary who manages a portfolio. It coaches the client on developing one strategy across domains and then helps the client communicate that vision to the people who execute it. The roles break down as follows.
- Wealth strategist: designs the strategy, coaches the decisions, and coordinates the team; carries no license and files nothing.
- Client: leads the strategy and directs their own professionals using the brief.
- CPA: signs off on the tax work and supports it in an audit.
- Attorney: drafts the legal instruments and carries the legal responsibility and privilege.
- Fiduciary: manages the investment portfolio when one is involved.
The line between roles matters for accountability. IRS Circular 230 sets the conduct standards for professionals who practice before the IRS, and a limited confidentiality protection for certain tax advice appears in Internal Revenue Code Section 7525. For the wider view of how these roles combine into one plan, see what a wealth architect does.
| Role | What they own |
|---|---|
| Wealth strategist | Designs the strategy and coordinates the team |
| Client | Leads the strategy and directs their own professionals |
| CPA | Tax work sign-off and audit support |
| Attorney | Legal instruments, legal responsibility, and privilege |
| Fiduciary | Investment portfolio management |
What is the brief you hand to your CPA and attorney?
The brief is a written summary of the client's goals that comes out of a recorded clarity session and goes to their own professionals.
Sam Prentice meets with the client and gets them clear on what they want the money to accomplish. He draws up a brief from that recorded meeting, and the client sends it to their tax professional, attorney, and CPA, who implement the plan. In his own words, "I get them clear. I help them provide clear communication to their team and their team is able to implement" (Sam call, 2026-07-23). The steps run in order.
- Clarify the goal: a recorded working session focused on what the client wants the money to do.
- Write the brief: the session becomes a written document the client owns.
- Hand it over: the client sends the brief to their own CPA, attorney, and tax professional.
- Implement: the professionals execute the plan within their licensed roles.
The speed of giving the client clear communication for their team is where the value sits. For a broader look at evaluating this kind of engagement, read how to choose a tax strategist.
Want a strategy your own CPA and attorney can act on? Book a discovery call to map it before anything changes.
Book a Discovery Call →Why does the client stay in charge of directing the CPA and attorney?
The client leads because a strategist who holds no license does not give the professionals orders or carry their legal responsibility.
Sam frames the shift as moving from main character to game designer. The client defines how they want to win, then controls the plan by giving their professionals the playbook, and those professionals support the client. Keeping the client in the lead also keeps liability where the law puts it, with the licensed professionals. This is why the language stays with coaching: the strategist designs and guides, and the client's own advisors evaluate and sign off. Compensation transparency belongs in the same conversation, and CFP Board's standards show one formal model for disclosing and managing conflicts among credential holders.
Does working with a wealth strategist mean replacing your CPA?
No. Sam Prentice works alongside the CPA and attorney a client already has, and the model does not replace either professional.
The Private Client Engagement pairs a strategist with the client's existing team. It includes a financial audit, a custom wealth roadmap, implementation support, and coordination with the client's CPA and attorney. The engagement considers applicants with $500,000 or more in annual income or $5 million or more in net worth, beginning with a discovery call. The Private Client Engagement page explains the current scope and process. Founders comparing the wider set of options can read the guide to the best tax strategists for entrepreneurs.
Frequently asked questions
Does a wealth strategist replace my CPA or attorney?
No. Sam Prentice designs the strategy and coaches the decisions, while the client's own CPA and attorney implement the work within their licensed roles. The model adds a strategist to the team and keeps the existing professionals in place.
Who gives the CPA and attorney their instructions?
The client does. The strategist gets the client clear on what they want and writes a brief from a recorded working session. The client sends that brief to their own tax professional, attorney, and CPA, and the professionals then implement the plan.
What does a CPA do that a wealth strategist cannot?
A CPA signs off on the tax work and supports it in an audit, and a licensed tax professional can prepare and file returns. The IRS lists credentials, return-signing practices, and representation rights among the things to verify when selecting a tax professional.
Do I need an attorney to work with a wealth strategist?
An attorney drafts the legal instruments and carries the legal responsibility and privilege for that work. A wealth strategist coordinates the plan and helps the client communicate it, so the attorney executes the parts the law assigns to a lawyer.
How does a wealth strategist coordinate with my existing professionals?
Sam Prentice starts with a recorded clarity session, turns it into a written brief, and supports communication with the client's CPA, attorney, and the rest of their financial team. The Private Client Engagement considers applicants with $500,000 or more in annual income or $5 million or more in net worth, beginning with a discovery call.
Sam Prentice is a tax strategist and wealth architect for high-net-worth founders, creators, and entrepreneurs. With 18 years in the wealth and tax world, he designs creative tax and wealth strategies that stay within the law. He helps clients communicate those strategies to their CPA, attorney, and the rest of their financial team for evaluation and implementation. Connect with him on LinkedIn or follow him on Instagram.