*sigh* this may take a while

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Had an email from my manager moaning that I had 100 hours of annual leave to book before end of March and 'could I please make it a priority to book it in, otherwise you'll lose it'.  Really??  I've got all that outstanding because they kept cancelling my AL! Grrrr. 
I'll book it all on Monday, but I've kept all emails regarding holidays and cancellations, so will stand my ground if they try to write it off.

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Annual leave all booked and approved.... I've got 3 weeks in December off, then 1 week off in January, February and March.  Not sure how they're going to manage staffing as several of my colleagues had similar leave to take.... they'll probably end up getting agency staff in and pay them 2-3 times our salary Hopefully none of that will get cancelled, if it does they've said they'll put it in writing that it can be carried into next year.  We'll see 

ohdearhowdidthathappen

What a long and boring month!  Really haven't done anything of note, just work and chilling at home.  Budget has fared ok and OH gets paid tomorrow.... half term next week, not planning on doing much, will see what the weather decides to do.
Have made a decent start with Christmas shopping, so life is ticking along ok

ohdearhowdidthathappen

We need to get our wills updated, ours are 14+ years old.  The old ones have the solicitors as one of the executors which we've since realised would be horrifically expensive for the estate as they'd charge for every phone call, letter or second spent. Doh.  Also, one of the named guardians have died and the other executor has gone bankrupt!  With 5 children, we need to know they're secure if the worst ever happens.
I've been reading about LPAs, working in a hospital you see some awful situations where one partner is in a coma/too ill to make decisions and the other is left in trouble as can't access the finances etc.  They're so expensive though!  We've been quoted £1200 for mirror wills and both types of LPA, which seems to be the going rate.  I know you can DIY, but we're not keen with something so important

mark55man

The thread on MSE's about LPAs is very thorough and should encourage you to DIY as apparently the online solution is very helpful.  The pages also cover somethings you should and shouldnt do ( in the usual legal way LPA gives wide discretion but by saying you must do X, you can imply that you can only do X not Y or Z, and you are planning for 20-30 years away.

Again naming executors (or their LPA equivalents) should be so they can all act independently if you start saying they all have to agree, then the moment one of them dies or can't be found the whole arrangement is worthless, or the entire responsibilities go to the spare attorneys (I Think thats the LPA word) which may not be what you want    

However the above said - it does feel like something that is doable, indeed we are planning to do it (someday soon )

Sarahwithlove

LPOA is fairly straight forward to do yourself and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have as I did my dad's and my aunts. Wills I would recommend going through a solicitor as that's more complicated. 

Drawingaline

We have lpa in place and a will. But like you, ours is outdated, as we only had one child, now we have 4! We are in the process of moving, so I think we will be revisiting the wills next year. I think it is money well spent though. Just reading through the death, wills and probate board on here shows how stuffed some people are once relatives pass away. 

enthusiasticsaver

You can do a LPA yourself. No need to fork out that much for a solicitor. The wills can be done by a solicitor relatively cheaply and sometimes there are special deals. 

Skibunny40

I think this is Free Wills month, or something similar? You make a donation to a charity and the solicitor draws up the will for free - sure I hear Martin Lewis talking about it on the radio.

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Thanks all, will have a look at DIY LPAs on MSE thread and perhaps look at doing it next year, I don't know if we're being daft doing it in our early 40s or whether it's something everyone should be doing, like wills.
The solicitor is quoting £250 for mirror wills.  She comes highly recommended and does everything via evening video call and post which appeals because I'm lazy and anything that saves hassle is a win I did look at the free wills month, but options were limited and none of the local ones have great reputations.