Q. My father has really been struggling lately with $35,000 in credit card debt. I have suggested buying his house, which is worth about $96,000. That would allow him to repay the credit cards with money he'd have left after paying off his mortgage of about $26,000. Then he would just pay me rent. Do you think this is a good plan, or what else do you recommend?

A. It's generous of you to help your father in this way, and it sounds as if it would work for everyone involved.

But we do have some reservations that are more personal than financial, and wonder if it wouldn't be better to have your father go to credit counseling. The counselors could negotiate away part of his debt and devise a repayment plan that would allow him to settle his financial problems on his own terms.

We recommend a member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, which has been helping people for more than 50 years and charges little or nothing to assist them. You can find a counselor near you by calling 1-800-388-2227 or on the foundation's Web site at www.debtadvice.org.

We see the owner (landlord)/ renter (parent) combination as a possible point of conflict that could put undue strain on a family relationship if self-esteem issues (among others) were to arise.