Free Round of Talks at the Bar

Annual legal seminar

At some point, nearly every American is likely to have a legal question for reasons ranging from divorce to traffic citations. Yet calling an attorney to answer your questions--particularly when you’ve got several--can be costly.

However, once a year, members of the Beverly Hills Bar Assn. volunteer their time to review some of the most troubling legal questions at a free half-day seminar. This year’s seminar, called Citizens Law School, will be held Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at University High School, 11800 Texas Ave. in Los Angeles. A panel of lawyers will be available until 2 p.m. to answer legal questions from the audience.

Although free legal seminars are not unusual--often an attorney will host an event to drum up business--this annual forum is unusual in that it brings together many of the city’s foremost experts in various legal specialties, who consider the event pro bono work on behalf of the profession.

“The goal of the class is to empower individuals of all socioeconomic and educational backgrounds with knowledge that will help them understand their legal options and may help them pursue certain legal remedies on their own, should the need arise,” said the program’s chairman, Art Wilkof. “If attendees do ultimately turn to an attorney for assistance, the class may enable them to save money on attorneys’ fees by making them better informed and, therefore, more effective partners with their attorneys.”

The seminar will be broken into five broad topics. The family law session will cover the complicated legal issues of divorce, child custody and support. An estate planning session will discuss everything from living wills to organ donation, executing a power of attorney to using a statutory will. Other sessions will cover bankruptcy, from the standpoint of both the creditor and the debtor; small claims; and criminal law.

Attendees will also receive a free volume of reference materials, says Libby Huebner, a spokeswoman for the group.

Registration is welcomed but not required. The phone number, if you have questions or would like to register, is (310) 553-6644.

BBB gives priority to postal service ads

Truth in advertising is one of the highest priorities of the Better Business Bureau, which monitors business practices of the nation’s manufacturers, retailers and service providers, according to BBB representatives in Colton. And now, the BBB is taking the U.S. Postal Service’s priority mail service to task, asserting that its ads mislead.

Specifically, the postal service launched an advertising campaign this summer comparing its priority mail service to Federal Express and UPS second-day air service. The point of the ads is to show how much cheaper priority mail can be. It is often half to a quarter of the price of these competing services.

But here’s the catch: The other services guarantee delivery within two days. The postal service doesn’t. Although priority mail is normally delivered within one to three days, there’s no refund if it takes twice that amount of time, a postal service spokesman says.

Getting a break for paying extra

At a time when several credit card issuers have announced that they plan to penalize those who pay off their outstanding balances with higher fees, one credit card company is going the opposite direction. KeyCorp of Cleveland introduced a new credit card program this month that will allow those who make higher-than-required payments to win a lower interest rate.

The bank’s “KeySmart” program will be available with all its credit cards--classic to gold. Your precise interest rate will depend on which type of card you have, whether you pay an annual fee and just how much you pay against the balance each month.

However, all the card offers roughly follow the formula on Key’s standard, no-fee card. If you pay just 2% of your balance each month, the rate is 19.8%; if you pay 3% of the balance, your rate drops to 16.5%; if you pay 5% of the balance, your rate slips further to 12.9%.

Key accepts balance transfers but charges a balance transfer fee ranging from $2 to $20, depending on the size of your balance. Those who want more information can call (800) KEY-2-YOU.

Putting your financial house in order

If you’d like a little help organizing your financial life--everything from setting goals to figuring out which financial records you need to save--the Institute of Certified Financial Planners can help. The Denver-based group has published a 20-page booklet called “Taking a Fiscal Inventory: How to Put Your Financial House in Order.” A free copy--along with a CFP referral list--will be sent to anyone who calls the CFP referral line at (800) 282-PLAN.

Consumer Checklist is a weekly feature that covers a range of pocketbook issues of interest to Californians. To contribute information about new legislation, products, services or surveys, write to Kathy M. Kristof, Business Section, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053; or e-mail kathy.kristof@latimes.com