Is it fair to judge professionals on their expertise in their private?
Original question: Is it fair to judge professionals on their expertise in their private life? For example; a marriage counselor who has been divorced 5 times, a financial advisor who previously declared bankruptcy, an unfit fitness coach, etc. It is not fair to judge them based on failings in their personal life. Since you mentioned marriage counselor, it takes two people to make a marriage but only one to destroy it. You can do everything right but if your partner is not interested in saving the marriage you will be unable to save it. If your partner is abusive, you may not be able to save your marriage. And if your partner decides that they want a divorce and will not try to work things out, there is not much you can do. There are many things that can cause bankruptcy. Get a serious disease like cancer and max out your insurance benefits, or have a major disaster in your area where you lose your home and everything in it, and you could be forced to file. They may be paying for their aging parents health care or nursing home, especially if their parents have dementia. If their parents did not have appropriate insurance to cover long term care, the adult offspring may not have control over the expenses related to their care.