I almost took the client at her word and filed schedules that told half the story.
Well, maybe it was 3/4 of the story, but the client who, to my consternation, seemed to enjoy nit picking the draft schedules, told me about the cabin on the lake that they rent out, but omitted from the questionnaire the rental income, the management fee, the utilities and any provision for maintenance on the property .
If I had simply typed in and presented for signature the information given me, the schedules would have been misleading. And the job I would have done would have been no better than that of a petition preparer.
There are probably analogies to lots of different games that describe what we (should) do: whether it’s
- connect the dots;
- fill in the blank;
- what’s missing from this picture,
They all capture the idea that we earn our keep by looking at the information presented and asking, Is that everything? Does that tell the whole story?
Keep your eyes peeled for clues to what isn’t there in your client’s information.
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Listen up: what clients don’t actually tell you
Image courtesy of jimblodgett via Flickr.
