Working with advisers in more than one country

Many people with a life, a business or a family spread across borders end up with more than one adviser. A lawyer in your home country looks at one side of a question, a tax adviser in another country looks at a different side, and perhaps an accountant is involved as well. Each of them is competent in their own field and their own jurisdiction. None of them sees the whole picture unless someone makes sure they do.

That someone is usually you. This article offers practical ways to keep several advisers aligned: how to map who covers what, how to give everyone the same facts, how to handle differences in language and terminology, what to do when advice seems to conflict, and how to keep a record of the decisions you make along the way.

Why advice in two countries can diverge

Two competent advisers can look at what seems to be the same situation and reach different conclusions. That is rarely because one of them is careless. More often, there is a structural reason:

• They apply different rules. Each adviser works within the law and practice of their own jurisdiction. Something treated one way in your home country may be treated quite differently in another country.
• They were asked different questions. A question phrased slightly differently can lead to a materially different answer.
• They were given different facts. One adviser may have an older version of a document, or may not know about an asset, a date or a family circumstance the other knows about.
• They made different assumptions. Where facts are missing, advisers fill the gap with assumptions, and those assumptions are not always stated.
• They have different scopes. One may be looking only at a single transaction while the other is looking at your position over several years.

Mapping who advises on what

Before problems arise, write down who is responsible for which question. A simple table is enough:

The last column is the most valuable one. It shows the gaps: questions that every adviser assumes someone else is handling. If a question appears in nobody's scope, you have found something to raise before it causes trouble. Describing a question that touches several areas is easier with a clear structure, as explained in describing a question that spans several areas.

One shared fact base everyone works from

The most common source of confusion between advisers is not disagreement about the rules. It is that they are working from different versions of the facts. A shared fact base solves much of this.

A fact base is a short, factual document, kept up to date, that describes your situation without interpretation. It might include:

• who is involved: family members, co-owners, business partners, and where each one lives and works;
• what is involved: assets, accounts, businesses, contracts and obligations, described plainly;
• key dates: when things happened and when decisions are expected;
• the documents that support each fact, with their version and date;
• what is still unknown, marked clearly as unknown rather than guessed.

Give every adviser the same version, and note the date on it. When a fact changes, update the document and send the new version to everyone at the same time. Keeping the underlying documents in order is covered in more depth in building a cross-border document inventory.

Sharing information consistently and securely

Once you have a fact base, the way you share it matters as much as its content.

• Use one channel per purpose. Decide where documents live and how updates are announced, so that nothing important travels only in a passing message.
• Version everything. Name files with a clear description and a version label, and keep older versions rather than overwriting them.
• Share only what each adviser needs. Not every adviser needs every document. Ask each one what they require for their scope.
• Ask about secure transfer. Ask each adviser how they prefer to receive sensitive documents, and follow that method.
• Record what you sent and when. A short log of what each adviser has received prevents the question "did they have that?" later.
• Confirm consent before sharing between advisers. Information one adviser gave you may be confidential. Ask before forwarding it to another.

Language and terminology differences

Even when everyone speaks the same working language, words can carry different meanings in different legal and tax systems. A term that sounds familiar may describe a concept that does not exist, or works differently, in the other country.

Some practical habits help:

• Keep a short glossary of key terms, with a plain description of what each one means in your situation.
• When an adviser uses a technical term, ask them to explain it in everyday words and add the explanation to the glossary.
• Where documents exist in more than one language, ask each adviser which version they relied on and whether a translation was used.
• Avoid paraphrasing one adviser's conclusion to another in your own words. Share the original wording, with consent, so that nuance is not lost.

When advice seems to conflict

Sooner or later, two advisers may appear to tell you different things. The temptation is to choose the answer that is easiest or cheapest to follow. Resist it. A convenient answer is not the same as a correct one, and choosing between advisers yourself means taking on a judgement neither of them made.

A calmer approach:

• Go back to the facts. Check whether both advisers had the same version of the fact base.
• Go back to the questions. Compare the exact wording of what each adviser was asked. Often they answered different questions.
• Ask each adviser to state their assumptions. Assumptions that were never written down are a frequent source of apparent conflict.
• Put the advisers in contact, with your consent. A direct conversation between them, or a joint call, often resolves in minutes what weeks of messages could not.
• Ask for a written note of the outcome. Once the advisers agree on the position, or on where a genuine difference remains, ask for it in writing.

Sometimes a real difference remains, because the rules of each country lead to different consequences. Then a decision has to be made with both consequences in view, and the advisers can help you understand the trade-offs.

Engagement terms, scope and confidentiality

Each adviser will usually work under their own terms of engagement. The contents and form of these vary between professions and countries, so the useful thing is to know what to ask. Before or at the start of each engagement, consider asking:

• What exactly is included in your scope, and what is excluded?
• How will you give your advice: in writing, in a meeting, or both?
• Are you able to speak directly with my advisers in the other country, and what do you need from me to do so?
• How do you handle confidentiality, and what may I share from your advice with other advisers?
• If the scope needs to change, how will that be agreed?

Write down the answers. They will feed into your responsibility table and help prevent the gaps described earlier.

Costs as something to agree in writing

Working with several advisers means several sets of charges, each structured in its own way. Some advisers charge by time, others by task, others by a combination. Without clarity, costs can grow quietly, particularly when advisers need to talk to each other.

Practical points to settle in writing with each adviser:

• how their work is charged and what is included;
• whether time spent speaking with other advisers is charged, and how;
• what would count as additional work, and how you will be told before it starts;
• how and when invoices are issued.

Agreeing these in advance lets you compare engagements clearly. For a broader set of questions to ask anyone providing cross-border services, see questions to ask a cross-border service provider.

Keeping decisions and their reasons recorded

Advice leads to decisions, and decisions are easy to forget. Months later you, a family member or a new adviser may need to understand why something was done in a particular way.

Keep a simple decision log with, for each decision:

• the date and what was decided;
• which advice the decision was based on, with a reference to the written advice;
• the facts and assumptions at the time;
• who made the decision;
• any open points that remained, and who is following them up.

The value of the log is that it connects each decision to the advice behind it, so decisions can be revisited if circumstances change.

Handing over between advisers

Advisers change. A person retires, a firm is replaced, or a question moves from one jurisdiction to another. A poor handover can undo much of the alignment you have built.

When an adviser leaves or a new one joins:

• give the new adviser the current fact base, the responsibility table and the relevant part of the decision log;
• ask the outgoing adviser, where appropriate, for a short summary of the position and any open points;
• check whether any deadlines or pending actions were in the outgoing adviser's hands;
• update the responsibility table so that the new adviser's scope is clear to everyone;
• tell the other advisers about the change and confirm how they will work together.

Where a coordinator can help

Keeping several advisers aligned is real work, and it often falls on someone who already has a full life or a business to run. A coordinator can take on part of the organising.

Wobridge works in this role. It can help you put together the brief for each adviser, maintain the fact base and the responsibility table, keep track of open questions and who is answering them, and arrange for the right people to speak to each other with your consent.

What Wobridge does not do is give tax or financial advice. It does not assess tax consequences or recommend financial decisions; those remain with the qualified professionals you engage. Legal questions are handled by Wobridge's lawyers within their areas of expertise, working with partner lawyers in the relevant country where local advice is needed. The coordinator's job is to make sure their advice is asked for clearly, based on the same facts, and seen together.

In short

Advice from different countries can diverge because of different rules, questions, facts, assumptions or scopes. Map who covers what, give everyone one shared fact base, share information carefully, clarify terminology, and when advice seems to conflict, go back to the facts and the questions rather than picking the convenient answer. Agree scope and costs in writing, record your decisions, and plan handovers.

If you would like help organising the brief and questions for advisers in more than one country, you can talk to Wobridge.