Dear L.P.: This is another case where I think it's insane for parents to mortgage their future and spend themselves into insolvency to put kids through school. While it is great to help your children, there is no reason in today's world why youngsters cannot put themselves through college if the necessity arises.

In the case of your youngster who is spending $6,200 a year on an out-of-state college, well, I think it's great he can go there, but I don't think this is an expense you should be bearing. You guys are technically bankrupt. You owe more than you have. You would be better advised to have a family get-together during the summer months and say this is the situation: If you guys want to continue to go to school, you are going to have to apply for loans and put yourself through. In return, you will have a home provided for you, etc.

If it's not possible for your youngster to go out of state, he will have to come home and attend the local college as well. While it could be argued the education he is receiving would have more value, I could not in good conscience tell you to continue on this road to bankruptcy. You mentioned you are 57 now. You only have eight to 10 years of productive earning ahead, and you have absolutely no savings at the moment. Your efforts should be devoted toward your retirement.

In my opinion, you owe them a sound moral upbringing and someone they can come to for guidance. Parents are not obligated to provide college educations, in this writer's view.

Dear R.B.: With a relatively modest estate such as you have described, I can see absolutely no purpose in setting up a living trust. There are no tax benefits. The only major benefit would be that this could pass outside of probate. Admittedly, this makes it a more expeditious process but, on balance, for a modest estate with a properly drawn will, the probate process would be relatively painless.

Dear A.M: There are all manner of allocation specialists who will recommend different ratios of holdings. The bond funds or the bonds themselves (highly rated) are a very conservative way of investing and whoever is giving you the advice is saying that a portion of your money should be invested conservatively. I have no quarrel with the safety of these instruments, but you should know they have a relatively modest return on investment. If you are content with that return, I have no problem.

In your letter, you indicated you have $40,000 put away in a money market for "cash reserve." It is my feeling you would be better advised to invest this money in a good mutual fund, or even in equities, using a line of credit with your bank or on a credit card for emergency funds, should an emergency arise. In most cases, it does not. This way, you are not penalizing yourself with the low return for a crisis that may never come.

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