Liz Weston
Money Talk
Helping an indigent parent access social service benefits
May 20, 2012
Dear Liz: Our mother just turned 64, and our father is divorcing her. She hasn't worked in years because of significant physical and mental health issues. My sister and I have been trying to figure out how she's going to survive on $750 a month, which is the equivalent of half his Social Security. She has always had serious issues with money management, which is why there are no retirement savings or a house. We are now about to embark on the maze of social service benefits that an older woman below the poverty line can receive, partly so we can decide whether she's better off staying put where she is in Arkansas, moving to my sister's in Texas, moving to be near me in Maryland, or moving to her childhood home of Chicago, where most of her friends are. For a lot of complicated reasons (mostly related to the mental health issues), we are trying to avoid having her live with either of us full time, and she expresses no desire to do so. So we have to figure out the ins and outs of Medicaid, food stamps, subsidized senior housing and anything else in four different states and then try to explain it to her. If you have any hints about helping an indigent and somewhat incapacitated mother access services, we would love to hear them. We feel a little overwhelmed at the moment and aren't even sure whom to call in each place.
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Restoring your credit scores after filing for bankruptcy
May 13, 2012
Dear Liz: I had credit scores over 800 with no late payments ever. Unfortunately, a medical issue required me to charge $24,500 to a credit card. That led to a bankruptcy, which was discharged in July 2011. My scores dropped to 672, and they're currently around 680. I'm paying two unsecured credit cards in full each month plus an auto loan that was reaffirmed in bankruptcy. I would like to continue rehabilitating my scores by applying for another loan. When a company requests my credit scores, does it also see my bankruptcy, and would that prevent me from getting credit?
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Deciding how quickly to draw down retirement funds
May 6, 2012
Dear Liz: After working all out for 28 years in a small business, I have put away $2.6 million in stocks, bonds and some cash. (I am a reasonably smart investor.) I'm 58 and want to be done at 60. I'm not tired of my business, just tired of working. How much do you think I could draw out and not get myself into trouble? I'm in great health, so I could last 30 more years. Our house is paid off, and my wife gets about $40,000 a year from a nice pension. Any ideas?
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Many start getting Social Security checks too soon
April 29, 2012
Dear Liz: I am 661/2 and eligible to collect my full Social Security benefit now. I am in good health and assume I will live into my 80s. I am still working and don't need the extra money. Is it better to put off taking my benefit so that it will grow 8% with Uncle Sam, tax free and guaranteed, or should I take the money now, pay taxes on it and invest it? Politically speaking, I think I should take it, but my gut says let it grow. What do you think? Is there a program available to demonstrate the differences?
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Tax pro's mistake costs client a $7,500 electric vehicle credit
April 22, 2012
Dear Liz: Last year I bought an electric vehicle, motivated in part by the $7,500 federal tax credit. I consulted with my tax preparer, a CPA, to ensure I would generate enough income to fully use the one-time, use-it-or-lose-it credit. In December 2011, I informed her of the exact type of that year's income (earned income, capital gains, dividends, interest and so on) and detailed all my deductions. She assured me that based on those numbers my tax burden was $8,600, more than sufficient to use the credit. It was enough, in fact, that I could use more deductions and losses, so I made some charitable contributions and sold a losing investment. The final numbers were very close to the estimates she received from me in December. Now that she has completed my federal tax return, however, my tax burden turns out to be far less than she estimated. In fact, it's zero. Ordinarily I'd be delighted, but I specifically consulted with her to ensure I had a large-enough tax burden to use up the credit. I could have sold some winning investments to generate a bigger tax burden, but have now lost that credit forever. So far she has not responded fully to questions about what happened, and I now suspect she may simply have guessed at the tax burden and not run the numbers through any tax preparation software. I feel that she has in effect cost me $7,500. Am I right to be aggrieved and do I have any recourse?
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Consult lawyer to protect finances from bullying son-in-law
April 15, 2012
Dear Liz: I am 84, and my husband is 88. We have two daughters, the elder of whom is married to a very controlling man. In the past, we lent them money and were paid back. But starting in 2009 his small business began to do poorly. They borrowed nearly $100,000 from us. Then in 2010, he begged us to get a home equity loan on our home, which was paid for.
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Deed in lieu transfer can speed up foreclosure process
April 8, 2012
Dear Liz: Is there any way to expedite the foreclosure process? My wife bought a townhome shortly before we were married. Long story short, it didn't fit our family once we got married and had a baby. We bought a larger house and tried renting the townhome but couldn't cover the mortgage payment. We attempted a short sale, but the bank refused a good offer, so we let it go into default. We even offered to do a deed in lieu of foreclosure, but the bank refused unless we provided financial information for me, too. Since I'm not named on the mortgage and wasn't even around when she got the loan, I refused. We've mentally and financially prepared for foreclosure and now just want the process complete. The bank, though, doesn't seem to be in any kind of hurry. The process is now entering the third year with no action on their part, and we haven't even been to the property in well over a year. We've told them expressly that we aren't fighting them on the foreclosure. At this point we just want to move on.
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Is a money manager worth it?
April 1, 2012
Dear Liz: My husband and I are nearing 60. The company where we both have worked for over 30 years recently merged with another firm. The money in our retirement accounts, which totals several hundred thousand dollars, will be distributed to us, and we need to figure out how to manage it.
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Use a credit card comparison site to pick the right rewards card
March 25, 2012
Dear Liz: Should we get a rewards card? We have excellent credit scores. I'm a stay-at-home mom and my husband has a good, steady job. We spend about $6,000 a month with our debit card or automatic drafts from our checking account. I think our family should have a rewards card. My husband disagrees and says that for the amount we spend each month, we wouldn't rack up any points. Is he right? If we should get a card, how do we pick the right one?
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Handle debt and bad credit one step at a time
April 18, 2010
Dear Liz: I had good credit until I lost my home in foreclosure and then lost my job. I'm working again, but I went from a salary of $60,000 a year to a salary of $20,000. My credit is messed up and I can't pay my credit card bills. How do I get back on track?
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Pitfall in this saving strategy
April 20, 2008
Dear Liz: I'm self-employed and have a Simplified Employee Pension account. Every year I borrow from an equity line to contribute the maximum to this account. My wife questions whether we are ahead by doing this. I say yes because we obviously save on the amount we pay in taxes and are paying only 5.25% on the equity line. We hope to pay off the loan in six months, plus we get to write off the interest. Is this a good plan?
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Fighting an unethical debt collector
April 6, 2008
Dear Liz: I think I'm being pursued illegally for a debt I don't owe. I visited a hospital in June 2007. It took my health insurer about six months to process the claim. Shortly after I received my benefits statement from the insurer, I received a call from a collection agency saying I had to call back immediately and give my credit card number to pay this debt. Instead, I called the doctor's office the next day. The receptionist told me my account was still open and had not been turned over to collections. I gave them my address and they sent me a bill, which I paid. A month later, I got another call from the collection agency, once again telling me I had to pay that very same day and that I had to call back with my credit card information. My requests to be faxed a bill have been ignored. When I asked that a bill be mailed to my home, the woman I talked to said the address I gave her was false (it wasn't). I just received another call, and the caller threatened to put this debt on my credit report if I don't pay. What is going on here? Is this fraud? I get really nervous with these calls, and I'm not sure what's going on here.
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