The Ethics of “Good Enough”: When Time, Budget, and GPS Collide

Genealogy Café – May
The Ethics of “Good Enough”: When Time, Budget, and GPS Collide

Date: May 13, 2026
Time: 7:00 p.m. – 8:15 p.m. (MDT)
Location: Zoom
Recording: Yes

Professional genealogists know the standard: reasonably exhaustive research.
But clients bring real constraints—limited time, limited budgets, and high expectations.

So where’s the line?

This Month’s Discussion

We’ll tackle one of the toughest questions in professional genealogy:
Can you deliver quality work that falls short of full GPS—and still call it ethical?

We’ll Explore

– What “reasonably exhaustive” really means in client work
– How to handle projects that exceed the authorized budget
– Whether standards can be scaled—or scope must change
– When to push back… or walk away 

Real-World Scenario

You have 10 hours authorized—but know the problem likely requires 40.
What do you do?

This is a facilitated discussion, not a lecture—bring your perspective.