Dear Mr. Berko: I recently received a thick bunch of legal papers about a lawsuit against General Motors Corp., whose stock I owned a couple of years ago. It's a settlement of some kind, and I've been asked to complete a bunch of pages and return them to a claims administrator. I've tried to read all that stuff and none of it makes sense to me. The gobbledygook wording looks like it came from another world, and the run-on sentences are so long and involved that I get confused before the period reaches the end of the sentence. Will you please explain to me what this is about and what they want from me? If I send those booklets to you, would you (for a fee) read them for me and complete the information they seek? I bought 50 shares of GM sometime in 2001 and I don't remember when I sold them. In fact, the brokerage firm I used is out of business and I think the broker has moved to Florida. What do I do?

I have another problem. I signed with a new employer two years ago and participate in the company 401(k) plan. I noticed that the employer is deducting payments to the plan every two weeks but waits 6-months to send the money into the mutual funds for investment in our 401(k) plan. He has free use of our money for months. That can't be right. Is there a federal law that relates to this? I think the money should be invested every month, not every six months. Am I right? Please advice. — H.E., Kansas City, Mo.

Dear H.E.: If you purchased General Motors Corp. securities, — that is bonds, preferred stocks or common stock — between April 13, 2000, and March 30, 2006, you may be entitled to some sort of cockamamie settlement from one of those ubiquitous class-action suits that put millions of dollars in lawyers' pockets (what a great business) and pennies in yours. The complaint asserts that General Motors Corp. and General Motors Acceptance Corp. and General Motors employees purposefully devised a scheme to inflate the market value of GM securities. The action claims that there were violations in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Securities Act of 1933 and alleges that the defendants purposefully caused false information to be issued regarding GM's revenues, expense, cash flow and earnings.

So, if you read those 40 pages of legal mumbo-jumbo and complete myriad pages of garbage testimony proving that you bought GM between those dates, you will be entitled to .27 cents a share less lawyer's fees and costs. And while you get bupkiss, maybe 10 cents a share, for wading through all the legal babble, locating and documenting dates and proof of purchase and sale, CUSIP numbers and so on.

Those sniggering class-action lawyers get about $60 billion plus costs and expenses. Anyhow, I won't complete your paperwork. A CPA or accountant will probably charge you $50 to dot the I's and cross the T's. But because you'll only collect $10 you're $40 behind the proverbial eight ball. Toss those papers in the trash. They're purposefully and intentionally designed by lawyers to make it impossible for civilians to understand the language and obtuse instructions. It's written to confuse and discourage shareholders from filing a claim. So, if fewer investors send in their claims, the snickering lawyers get to put your share in their pocket. That's why they are so challenging to read! Smart, they!

I think your employer needs advice from his lawyer or his accountant because I'm certain as cider that this free ride is a federal violation. According to my daughter (she's one of the good lawyers) your employer must remit the withheld amount to the 401(k) within seven days after each payday. For example, if payday is Feb. 1, then your employer must deposit, not mail, the payment into the plan by the Feb. 8. If the plan were to audited by the IRS and it is discovered that the deposits are three months or six months late, there could be a rather hefty fine. There are strict rules for depositing employee money in a 401(k) or 403(b). However, the rules do not pertain to contributions withheld for profit-sharing plans. In this instance, the employer can make profit-sharing contributions at any time up until the date the employer completes his tax return.

Please address your financial questions to Malcolm Berko, P.O. Box 1416, Boca Raton, FL 33429 or e-mail him at malber@comcast.net. To find out more about Malcolm Berko and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.

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