Posted by Rick, the Probate Guy on August 05, 2008 at 21:20:02:
Part of the culture of posting on an open, public forum, especially when you are asking for advise, is that you’re sometimes going to get advise that you don’t like. Perhaps because you disagree with the remedy, have a personality clash with the responder, question the qualifications of the poster, or just don’t want to hear what other people have concluded about what your situation is.
That’s part of the public part. Frankly, I think that the post that you’re responding to is spot on. I’m not judging you as a person in any way; I’ll bet you’re a very bright, interesting person to meet and speak to.
However, you are asking for people’s opinions, aren’t you? You don’t have to agree with a single one of them. However, whenever I’ve queried my advisors for their thoughts and filtered them to the extent that I eliminated all those responses that tasted bitter (or hurt my feelings and my all-too-delicate ego), I’ve paid a larger price. Each and every time.
I used to have a neighbor around the corner from me. He would occassionally use my advise in lieu of paying for professional help (i.e., an attorney and a CPA). I told him that I could only help him in a general way and was not qualified to help specifically. His Daughter took after the Dad and would also call upon me for help.
But neither would spend the smallest bit of money for good advise. Too bad, too. When they lost their home due to their investment property with the cross-collateralized loan going bad, there was nothing that any of us could do to help them. They were toast.
And I certainly wouldn’t want my former neighbor’s fate to happen to you.
So, that’s the price we all pay. Take the best, and leave the rest. Take the advise graciously.