I agree with everything you said, Eleanor. My personal belief is that a good planner-client relationship is built on solid footings of trust and understanding, beginning with a "discovery" phase--understanding "what drives you".

The last 12 months, which have been difficult for both planners and clients, has shown that there is quite a bit of value in conversation. Clients were reminded that the world was not ending as we know it, and planners were reminded that portfolio values represented livelihoods and life savings, not just asset pools they were managing.

In the end, communication was absolutely vital to surviving the Bear Market of 2008/09. In the end, the foundation for receiving valuable advice should be laid out in the initial scope of engagement and then blossom from there.