A: Never, never take the word of a bank employee, over the phone, about a matter this important. Some phone reps are well informed, others aren’t. Or maybe you didn’t clarify the question you were asking. Here’s what you should have done (as should any other separating spouses): call the bank and close the account. Follow up with a letter and keep a copy. Then if the bank messes up your credit you can show the error was theirs. Because you inadvertently kept the account, the bank treated all debt on the card as yours.

Your lawyer should have helped you take care of this when you separated, says New York matrimonial attorney Robert Arenstein. Where there’s no debt, joint accounts can be wiped away. Where there’s debt, one spouse or the other can agree to assume it. But that requires a lender’s consent. Typically, the spouse who assumes the debt transfers the balance to a new credit card. If that spouse can’t pass a credit check, the other spouse remains on the hook for the debt that you contracted together. All you can do is freeze the card (which is the same as closing the account), to stop new debt from accumulating. You should also freeze a home-equity line of credit.

There’s not a lot you can do about the blot on your credit. You have added a statement to your credit report at a single small credit bureau. But the report says only “file incomplete, contact credit bureau for consumer history”- and many credit granters don’t bother. Nevertheless, you should call the three major credit bureaus(Equifax, 800-685-1111; Trans Union, 316-636-6100; TRW, 800-422-4879). If they also have your credit report, add your statement there. You can sue your ex; if the court finds him responsible, the bank will clear your credit. Some banks clear your credit if you agree to pay. The unhappy truth is that marriages end but divorces last forever.

Q: When I took an early-retirement offer from Allstate, I signed an agreement not to sue for age discrimination. Of the $100,000-plus payment I received, $37,000 was withheld for taxes. Many retirees contend that this payment is not taxable because it’s not income; it’s a settlement in lieu of bringing an age-discrimination suit. Do you have any information?

A: FRANK MEYER, MT. PROSPECT, ILL. Yes, but you’re not going to like it. In June, the Supreme Court delivered an opinion on exactly this point (Commissioner v. Schleier). Settlements of claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) are indeed taxable:

Some lawyers, however, think they see an edge of daylight here. The settlement might–repeat, might–be nontaxable if you got the money in lieu of filing other claims, like claims for emotional injuries suffered when you were downsized out of a job. Anyway, that’s what the Portland, Ore., firm of Ball, Janik & Novack plans to argue, in a lawsuit it’s preparing on behalf of 3,000 ex-employees of IBM. The result, however, will bind only those people who are parties to the suit. The facts in other cases might be different, so each requires a separate and expensive suit. To win, you have to show that your employer made the payment to free itself of non-ADEA claims.

The IBM suit came together thanks to the efforts of the National Organization of Downsized Employees (914-266-3556; $25 a year for membership and a newsletter). Similar groups are trying to form to confront other firms. NODE’s president, Lowell Hofmann, says it takes at least 200 people to raise a large enough war chest to hire a lawyer; the IBM case required 1,250 people, at $600 each.

To preserve your right to join an action, file for a tax refund within three years of the day that the tax was due. The IRS will turn you down. You then have two years to organize a group and sue.

Q: I am a young professional interested in investing in a mutual fund. I already contribute 4 percent of my salary to a 401(k) plan. I’d like to put away another 5 percent but can afford an initial investment of only $500 to $750, with $100 monthly contributions. Is there a fund that will take me seriously?

KAREN CAMPBELL, BROOKLINE, MASS.

Babson Growth Fund: invested in blue-chip companies; minimum initial investment, $500 (800-422-2766).

Century Shares Trust: growth companies, $500 minimum (800-321-1928).

Nicholas Fund: middle- and larger-size companies, $500 (414-272-6133).

Pax World Fund: stocks and bonds, but avoids defense, tobacco, liquor and gambling securities; $250 (800-767-1729).

Sentry Fund: growth companies, $500 (800-533-7827).

Strong Asset Allocation Fund: spread over stocks, bonds and cash; and Strong Total Return Fund: dividend-paying stocks; both $250 (800-368-1030).

Seven stock and bond funds offered by the American Association of Retired Persons and managed by Scudder Stevens & Clark, $500 (800-322-2282).

Some fund groups let you start with just $50 a month, if that money can be transferred out of your bank account automatically.

Try Janus (800-525-3713) and INVESCO (800-525-8085).