As interns, one of the things we’re charged with is the busywork of producing en masse letters for clients containing their account information. This usually isn’t much of a problem (though it’s something that could and should conceivably be automated – mail merge, anyone?), unless the sexual orientation of a client is in question.

Example: someone just ran into an account under the name “Rob & Martin Jones”. The original draft of the letter begins with this:

Rob & Martin Jones
1234 Napier Court
Edgewood, XY 12345-7890

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Jones:

“Martin” is, presumably, not a Mrs. How then should the letter be formally addressed? Are they gay? And if so, should it be “Dear Mr. & Mr. Jones”?

Or simply “Hey, you:”?