The question, as you would say it out loud.
Not a polished problem statement—the version you would tell a friend across a table. That version usually contains the real question; the polished one usually hides it.
Before you reach out
Nothing to prepare. But if gathering helps, start here.
The honest answer to “what should I have ready?” is: nothing. The first conversation is designed to work with whatever exists today—including a situation you cannot summarize yet. This page is for the people who feel better walking in with something in hand.
What tends to matter
Four things people wish they had mentioned sooner.
None of these are required. All of them are welcome in any state.
The people and moving parts.
Who is involved, who has an opinion, who actually decides. Institutions, advisors, family, partners, systems—whatever touches the situation, in whatever order it comes to mind.
What you have already tried or been told.
Prior advice, reports, half-finished attempts—especially the ones that contradict each other. Contradictions are not noise to us; they are usually where the real work is.
The pile, exactly as it is.
Statements, contracts, spreadsheets, exports, notes on paper. Unsorted, incomplete, out of order. Making sense of the pile is part of the job—it was never yours to do first.
What you do not need
A tidy summary. Complete records. Certainty about what kind of help this is—or whether it is “big enough” to bring. People spend months trying to get organized enough to ask for help with getting organized. Skip that part; it is the part we do.
When you are ready
Bring it as it stands.
A first conversation is exactly that—a conversation. No commitment, no preparation bar to clear, and no wrong way to start it.