Money Talk: Credit card law doesn’t apply to business cards
Dear Liz: I have a business credit card that offers cash rebates. It has an interest rate of 15.24% on purchases and 25.24% on cash advances. I carry balances in each category. Each month the issuer posts my entire payment to my lower-interest purchases balance and nothing to my cash advance balance. I telephoned to complain but I was told that they will not post any payments to my cash advance balance until my purchases balance is completely paid off. I thought that there was a federal regulation that payments had to be posted to the highest-rate debt balance first. Am I mistaken? If not, to which federal agency can I complain?
Answer: There is indeed a federal law that requires payments in excess of the minimum to be applied to the highest-rate balance. It’s part of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009. But the Credit CARD Act applies only to consumer credit cards — not business cards.
It’s not a good idea to carry a balance on any credit card, but it’s even more dangerous to carry a balance on a card that lacks the consumer protections promised in the Credit CARD Act. Talk to the bank that has your business checking account to see if you can arrange a lower-rate loan to pay off your balances.
Helping homeless, mentally ill son
Dear Liz: I want to offer some bit of advice to the woman with the mentally ill, homeless son. She didn’t say which state he lives in, and I’m guessing it’s not California. There are so many wonderful programs here. I did help a woman my age (late 40s at that time) get off the street by convincing her to let me drive her to PATH (People Assisting the Homeless). It took a few tries but she finally got into my car. PATH took over after that. She has been on Supplemental Security Income for years and lives in a low-income housing tax credit building. Tell the mother that there are social workers dedicated just to representing people that are both homeless and mentally ill in all 50 states. There is also subsidized housing available in all 50 states. She just needs to put her worry into action to find the right social worker or organization. They have the know-how to proceed and help her son. I’m not saying that this will be easy, but she will feel better if she persists in trying to find the right resources for her son and it just might work.
Answer: Thank you for suggesting PATH as a possible solution for homeless people in Southern California. The mother thought there was no help available in the state where her son lives, but every state has at least a few programs for the mentally ill. Getting low-income housing is another matter because many programs have far more applicants than availability.
The mother can certainly make inquiries and suggest possible solutions for her son. But she still needs to set boundaries in how much time and money she dedicates to his problems. She is elderly, on a limited income and several states away from her son. She deserves a little peace at the end of her life, which may mean making peace with the idea that his fate is not in her hands.
Consider special needs trust
Dear Liz: Your suggestions about resources to help a parent with an emotionally ill adult child were very helpful. But from a financial standpoint, don’t you think you should have discussed a special needs trust for the time when the parent dies? Whatever assets she has, most likely her home, should be put in this trust to protect her son’s eligibility for government benefits (Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid, for example). An inheritance could jeopardize his eligibility for these programs. It will be overseen by a responsible party and can never be taken as part of a potential lawsuit. This is something I recommend to my clients as a geriatric social worker.
Answer: Thank you for the suggestion. Given the brevity of this column, it’s impossible to cover all potential angles to every situation. In this case, there was no indication that the son was receiving government benefits or that his mother had sufficient assets to be concerned about an inheritance.
That wouldn’t be unusual. One study for the National Bureau of Economic Research found that 46% of Americans have less than $10,000 in financial assets when they die. Many single-person households (57%) have no home equity.
Still, even a small inheritance can disqualify someone from SSI, and losing access to Medicaid health coverage would be catastrophic for people who depend on the program. So parents who have both an heir who needs these programs and assets that might outlive them should discuss a special needs trust with an estate-planning attorney.
Questions may be sent to Liz Weston, 3940 Laurel Canyon, No. 238, Studio City, CA 91604, or by using the “Contact” form at asklizweston.com. Distributed by No More Red Inc.
