Dear Harry: My uncle recently died. In his will, he left me his house and a small amount of money. Most of the money went to pay for his last illness and funeral costs. What remains is a little more than $8,000. Right now, my credit card balances come to about $7,000, and I will use that inherited money to get out of debt for the first time in my life. I never paid attention to you when you almost begged people not to use credit cards unless they could afford to pay them in full each month. You can be 100 percent sure that I'll do it now. The problem I have is that I'm on SSI (Supplemental Security Income), and I'm deathly afraid that they will take away or slap liens on the house I just inherited. I have lived in this house for the last 11 years. I'm losing sleep over this, and I'm afraid to call my local office. I know my ownership will appear in the public records, and I won't be able to keep it a secret. Should I transfer the title to a relative or friend? Help!

What Harry says: Do not make a title transfer! Frauds are dishonest and very dangerous. Moreover, they can backfire in your case because you would be at the mercy of the person you transfer to. In addition, you are perfectly safe from a problem with SSI. The rules exclude a home from consideration of your assets in determining eligibility. The remaining cash is below the limit on cash, too. I hope you stick to your resolution on use of your credit cards. In today's economic times, that advice is sounder than ever.

Write Harry Gross c/o the Daily News, 400 N. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19130. Harry urges all his readers to give blood - contact the American Red Cross at 800-GIVE LIFE.