NHL player files for bankruptcy after his parents abuse power of attorney

In my line of work, kids taking financial advantage of parents is an everyday occurrence. But parents taking advantage of wealthy children, not so much. The recent case of Jack Johnson of the Columbus Blue Jackets, however, shows that anyone can be taken advantage of by people they trust.

The Columbus Dispatch recently ran a story describing in detail how Johnson's parents, to whom he had entrusted the $18 million he has earned so far as a hockey player, spent, stole, borrowed, and lied their way through Johnson's entire fortune. Even much of his future income has already been spoken for. Click here to read the story.

Though the facts may be a reversal of what is commonly seen, the moral of this sad, shocking tale is the same - be careful who you trust with your money. Family members may seem to be the natural choice, but they can be absolutely the wrong people. No matter who you put in charge, when things seem off, trust your gut and investigate. What is worse - possibly offending someone by asking questions, or risking that everything you own will be gone?

Most likely, the actions taken by Johnson's parents will turn out to be illegal, but does that really help him? Even if they are found to be criminally responsible, the money will still be gone.

The attached photo of Jack Johnson accompanied the article in The Dispatch and is credited to Chris Russell/Dispatch.