Why Your Accountant Can’t Act As Your Qualified Intermediary

When searching for a qualified intermediary, many people first think of their CPA or accountant, but that’s a common mistake. In this article, we are going to discuss why your accountant (or any other related party) can’t act as your 1031 qualified intermediary.

1031 Exchanges & Related Parties

When most people hear the word “related party” they assume it means family members, and it makes sense that a direct relative wouldn’t be able to act as your neutral third-party intermediary for your exchange. But when it comes to 1031 exchanges, “related party” applies to more than just blood relatives.

In short, a qualified intermediary needs to be a neutral third party operator, completely unbeholden to the taxpayer conducting the 1031 exchange.

The following is a list of related parties that would be barred from acting as a qualified intermediary on your behalf:

• Your CPA or accountant, lawyer, real estate agent, or anyone else who has provided you with professional services in the past two year period.

• Your employee.

• Your blood relatives.

It’s always a good idea to work with a qualified intermediary that is completely neutral.

Qualified Intermediaries with Decades of Experience

If you’re considering a 1031 exchange of your investment or business real estate, speak with a qualified intermediary at CPEC1031, LLC. With decades of experience, our intermediaries are well-equipped to help you through the entire like-kind exchange process. Whether you’re doing a forward exchange, reverse exchange, or build-to-suit exchange, we can help you save money in capital gains taxes. Reach out to our team at our Minneapolis office today to learn more about the 1031 exchange process and how we can help you with your next like-kind exchange!

• Start Your 1031 Exchange: If you have questions about 1031 exchanges, feel free to call me at 612-643-1031.

Defer the tax. Maximize your gain.

© 2026 Copyright Jeffrey R. Peterson All Rights Reserved

Video – Don’t Take Boot During the 1031 Exchange Process

In a 1031 exchange, you need to re-invest all of your equity from your relinquished property into your replacement property. If you take any of the cash from the sale of your relinquished property and redeploy it into your pocket, the IRS will rightfully tax you on that cash boot. During the 1031 exchange process, don’t take any boot (cash or other property that you receive in the exchange process).

Realize the Tax-Saving Power of 1031 Exchanges

Are you ready to realize the tax-saving power of section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code? If so, you’ve come to the right place. CPEC1031, LLC specializes in facilitating like-kind exchanges under section 1031 across the United States. We can help you through the entire 1031 exchange process by answering your queries, preparing documentation, and helping ensure you are set up to defer your capital gains taxes. Contact us today at our Twin Cities office to set up a time to chat about your exchange. We are located in downtown Minneapolis, but we work with taxpayers from around the country.

• Start Your 1031 Exchange: If you have questions about 1031 exchanges, feel free to call me at 612-643-1031.

Defer the tax. Maximize your gain.

© 2026 Copyright Jeffrey R. Peterson All Rights Reserved

How to Know When It’s The Right Time to Do a 1031 Exchange

When it comes time to sell a piece of investment or business real estate, you have a few options at your disposal. You could sell the property and pocket the proceeds, or do a 1031 exchange and defer your capital gains taxes in the process. Deciding between these options can be difficult. In this article, we are going to discuss how to determine when it’s the right time to do a 1031 exchange.

Do You Need Liquidity Fast?

If you need cash fast, then your best bet is to do a straight forward sale of the real estate. This allows you to pocket the net proceeds from the sale. However, you will need to pay capital gains taxes on these sales proceeds. Depending on the size of your property, this can be a substantial tax burden.

Do You Want to Defer Your Taxes & Compound Your Wealth Over Time?

If you are able to delay your gratification and not pocket the net proceeds, you can defer your capital gains taxes with a 1031 exchange. This allows you to reinvest your sales proceeds into a bigger replacement property and keep your hard-earned cash growing in a continuation of your investment.

Consider a 1031 Exchange

Get the most out of your investment property sale by considering a 1031 exchange. Under section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code, you can defer your capital gains tax burden on the sale of real estate that’s held for investment or business purposes. If you have questions about the 1031 exchange process, contact the qualified intermediaries at CPEC1031, LLC. Our team has been facilitating like-kind exchanges for more than two decades. We can help you through the entire exchange process from top to bottom, making sure you understand what’s happening at every stage.

• Start Your 1031 Exchange: If you have questions about 1031 exchanges, feel free to call me at 612-643-1031.

Defer the tax. Maximize your gain.

© 2026 Copyright Jeffrey R. Peterson All Rights Reserved

1031 Exchange Documents - Adobe Acrobat eSign Guide

An essential part of completing your 1031 exchange is ensuring that your documents are signed prior to your closing. In this guide, we will walk you through the eSign process.

To sign, you can expect two emails, one from the 1031 team with instructions and one from Adobe Acrobat Sign inviting you to review and sign. Once in the Adobe Acrobat Sign page, you will see text at the top of the page indicating how many fields are remaining, as well as a blue arrow that will navigate you towards the next field to complete. To sign your initials, you will need to draw in the pop-up box after clicking the yellow field on the page.

You are able to re-sign as many times as needed if you do not like how they appear. Once you have it signed as desired, click the Apply button. This will save your initials for any further fields requiring initialization. To advance to the next field, click the blue arrow to the side of the document.

To create your signature, you will follow the same steps as before when signing your initials. You may re-sign as many times as needed until you have it displayed as you prefer.

Once you are satisfied with your signature, click Apply to add to the document and save for future fields requiring your signature. Continue navigating the document by using the blue arrow to the side to direct you to the next required field and click the yellow field to auto-input your saved signature.

Once you have completed all required fields, the ribbon at the bottom of the document will change and display a red arrow pointing to a blue button that says Click to Sign. Additionally, the top ribbon on the right side will update to inform you that all required fields are now complete. Prior to submitting, you are able to review this document by scrolling through the pages here to look through your signed fields.

You will have the ability to download this signed document for your review and filing after clicking the Click to Sign button at the bottom once everything looks satisfactory.

After clicking the Click to Sign button at the bottom, the page will change to a white screen with a blue checkmark and text stating you're all set. This indicates that you have successfully signed these documents and you are able to download a copy here.

Additionally, you will receive a new email after completion from Adobe informing you that you're done signing with an option to open the agreement for your review and filing. Enter the password provided earlier in the e-signing instruction email to view your signed exchange documents. On the ribbon at the top of the screen, you may notice a download and print icon. Clicking either of these will prompt you to select where you would like to save this document.

Please reach out if you need further assistance with signing or if you have any other questions.

• Start Your 1031 Exchange: If you have questions about 1031 exchanges, feel free to call me at 612-643-1031.

Defer the tax. Maximize your gain.

© 2026 Copyright Jeffrey R. Peterson All Rights Reserved

Can a Trust Hold 1031 Replacement Property?

What if a taxpayer sells investment property individually but wants the 1031 replacement property titled in a trust? Will they still be able to qualify for 1031 exchange treatment?

The Same Taxpayer Question

The key question we need to answer here is whether the person conducting the 1031 exchange and the trust are treated as the same taxpayer for federal income-tax purposes.

A grantor trust may be treated as the individual owner for tax purposes. A non-grantor trust may be a separate taxpayer. That essential difference can determine whether the proposed title creates a same-taxpayer issue.

Before the replacement property closes, it’s important to confirm the trust’s tax treatment with your tax and estate-planning advisors. As we often discuss, a successful 1031 exchange requires a strong team of advisors that consists of a qualified intermediary, CPA/accountant, lawyer, financial planner, and more. Be sure to loop all of these advisors into the process so that you are set up for success.

Section 1031 of the IRC

When you do a 1031 exchange of your investment real estate, you can defer capital gains taxes and compound your hard-earned wealth over time. Savvy investors utilize section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code to complement their long-term wealth-building strategy. Any investor can conduct a 1031 exchange as long as their property qualifies. At CPEC1031, LLC we help investors large and small facilitate exchanges of all types. Reach out to our team today to set up a time to speak with a qualified intermediary about your next like-kind exchange under section 1031 of the IRC.

• Start Your 1031 Exchange: If you have questions about 1031 exchanges, feel free to call me at 612-643-1031.

Defer the tax. Maximize your gain.

© 2026 Copyright Jeffrey R. Peterson All Rights Reserved