The move that started a year earlier.
"Should we move to a no-tax state?"The move is the easy part. The timing is worth six figures.
You relocate for a new job, or retire to Florida. The move looks like a lifestyle decision. It is also the largest tax decision of the decade, and almost all of its value lives in the sequence.
The ripple
A move is one decision. Its worth depends entirely on what happens before the truck arrives, and what waits until after.
A family decides to move Illinois → Texas
Residency has a start date, and that date is what the tax turns on
A business sale is already on the table this year
Sell after the move and the gain escapes the old state's 4.95%
Roth conversions get cheaper the moment residency flips
Illinois' $4M estate-tax exposure disappears at the border
The old state can still audit domicile, so the move must be documented
What you keep
One move. Six decisions that all turn on a single date.
Same move, two outcomes
Uncoordinated
- The business is sold, and the RSUs vested, months before the move is final.
- Roth conversions are done while still a high-tax-state resident.
- Domicile is sloppy, two homes, no clear record, and the old state audits.
- The estate plan and titling are never revisited for the new state.
Coordinated
- Residency is established first; the sale and vesting wait until after.
- Roth conversions are accelerated once the state rate drops to zero.
- Domicile is documented deliberately, so the move survives a challenge.
- The estate plan is refreshed for the new state's rules.
Same move. The difference is measured on the calendar.
In the room, before the moving truck: CPA, attorney, and the investment plan, with a documented residency date.
Financial decisions should not surprise one another.
See the ripple on your own numbers.
The Tax Diagnostic starts with your state and bracket and shows what a coordinated approach
could be worth for you, in about two minutes.
Run the Tax Diagnostic →
This case is one household’s. A Coordination Review reads yours.
Every system read together, the findings written down, and an owner
against every gap — yours to keep. No products at the first meeting.
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