Everyone seems to be an expert these days, and everyone loves to give advice.  Plain and simple, be very careful of who you listen to.  Make sure they have some type of experience in the field they are advising you in.   Remember,today's situations that people are in are much more complex than in years past.

Many people take bad advice, may it be from a family member, friend or colleague who knows quite a bit about nothing.  We have all seen this.

I received a phone call from a person not to long ago.  They informed me that they had a tax situation since he walked away from his home which ultimately foreclosed. 

My first question to him was "who advised you".  He stated a friend.  I asked what does your friend do.  He said he works at a bank.  I asked what does he do at the bank?  he said he was not sure.  I then asked what was his/her advice.  He said his friend informed him that given the circumstances, it was best just to walk away from his home which he owed on or around $500,000 on.

Well here is what happened.  He was issued a document (1099) by the IRS for forgiveness of debt.  He was now responsible for paying taxes on the $500,000, which in his particular case comes out to be around $140,000.

In the event that this person asked for professional help, he/she most likely would have been advised to file for bankruptcy first.  By doing so, this would have wiped out all if not most of the debt that he was being taxed on.  In this particular case, filing for bankruptcy may have been a good idea.

I know everyone has friends and family members who are super intelligent.  The moral of the story is to do some digging, and get a few points of view before making youre decisions, it could save you $140,000.