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It’s almost 100 percent guaranteed. What? That half of the family wealth will be lost to the IRS when the following words are spoken to me by a closely held business owner who is talking about transferring his business to his kids and/or his estate plan. There are three distinct categories:

1. “Irv, some day, I’m going to…”

2. “We’ve (me and my lawyer or accountant or both) been working for years…”

3. “It’s all taken care of. My lawyer did… (that)” and “my accountant did… (this)” and “my insurance agent did… (whatever).”

Every business owner in the first and second categories is an easy tax-saving target because you don’t have a transfer/estate plan in place. So, of course, we can help you. And we do.

But why do I want to explode when I talk to a business owner in the third category (usually a reader of this column calling me for a second tax opinion or just chatting with members of the audience from one of my tax seminars)? Because I have found that “Done” does not necessarily mean, “Done right.” Rarely, very rarely, does it mean, “Done best.”

Have I ever found that a business owner established a transfer and/or an estate plan and done “best”? Yes, but rarely. In every such case I have found one common denominator: Someone has coordinated the efforts of the client, the accountant, the lawyer and the insurance consultant. But for the typical case in which I wind up giving a second opinion, this is what I find: The accountant worked on the current tax liability. The lawyer drafted the death documents. The insurance consultant looked for the premium dollar (usually found it in the corporation). Most of the time all are caring, competent professionals.

But without a leader to take responsibility for coordinating all the professional efforts — dovetailing the lifetime tax plan with the estate (death) plan, and buying or keeping the right type of insurance in the right way to dovetail with the life and death plans — the result is predictable. Sure, the plan is “done,” but many strategies and techniques — tax-saving and otherwise — were missed.

The sad result: About one-half of the family wealth is lost to the IRS.

What can you do to make sure you don’t get caught in this same professional tax trap (and keep me from exploding)? Make sure your professional advisors work together. Critique each other’s work. Share ideas. And most important: Select the most knowledgeable and experienced advisor as the leader — responsible for dovetailing everyone’s work.

Can you test if your professional advisors have completed their work and you have the right tax plan? Yes! Just make sure that every dollar of your wealth (whether you are worth $3 million, $30 million, or any other amount you are worth) will go to your family — intact — with all taxes, if any, paid in full. It’s that easy.

For example, if you are worth $5 million, then 100 percent of that $5 million — every dollar of it — to your family; if $10 million, then the entire $10 million to your family. Well, you get the idea.

If your professionals flunk the test or if you are not totally comfortable get a second opinion.

Now STOP for a moment. Estimate your estate tax liability. Write it in this blank… $__________________. Applying the principles outlined in this article will prevent you losing the amount you just wrote down to the IRS. And, oh, yes, you’ll keep me from exploding.

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Irv Blackman is a certified public accountant and lawyer who specializes in estate planning, business succession and asset protection. Contact him at Blackman@EstateTaxSecrets.com or call 417-9732. His Web site is www.taxsecretsofthewealthy.com.