"Asking" them, or "telling" them?

But that assumes that @Anonymous is not collecting a fee for helping with the mess.  Someone in business to make money, would allow clients to make their own choices about how much service they want to buy.  That's what separates the doctors from the tax practitioners, I suppose.  If your kid brings home from school a case of Covid, the doctor is not going to treat you for free.  But if your kid brings home a tax problem, your trusty tax preparer is supposed to fix it for nothing.  

It also assumes the kid is going to be in college next year, and still a dependent.