So sad to hear about the death of Paul O'Grady yesterday, he was a lovely man, so kind hearted and friendly, and of course he loved dogs. And he was so funny. A great loss, I feel really sad about it.
What a horrible, miserable, rainy, windy few days we're having.....feels cold too, although the temperature says not but the wind makes it feel cold. It was certainly nasty in town yesterday. We went to the bank, which was a waste of time - you can't just go in and see someone now, you have to make an appointment! The reception lady said it wouldn't be this week as they were rammed - it was empty when we got there, just one customer and 4 members of staff! 2 of whom were just standing around waiting to greet customers 😒 Don't think much of their interpretation of rammed 😂 And what's the point of having staff with badges saying 'Can I help you?' when they can't?! Hey ho.
Thank you everyone for your input and advice, it's all very helpful. Having read up some more, I think it may be prudent to take out a PoA, and asap. Incidentally, it seems the Enduring Power of Attorney has been replaced by a Lasting Power of...., although existing EPA's still count if they were taken out before things changed. Interestingly, I've discovered that a PoA doesn't mean I can take money out of any sole account husband has, when he's died, as the PoA ceases on death, it's only in force during the life of the person. However, with joint accounts it seems the account doesn't get frozen and the surviving partner can still access the account, although some banks have certain exceptions (which, it seems, probably don't apply in our case). It's all a bit of a minefield actually, although less so if we are each other's sole beneficiaries (which we are) and our affairs are straightforward with no vast sums involved - which there aren't! (if only 😂).
It's all a bit depressing dealing with all this, but got to be done, and better now than after the event.
Meanwhile, the weather doesn't look like improving very much until mid-April, which means we probably won't be staying overnight at the caravan until then - we'll still go for day trips there when it looks like being a reasonably nice few hours. Fellow owners won't be coming to stay until the weather improves, so it'll be very quiet indeed there until they do. Peace and quiet is fine as far as I'm concerned, but husband gets bored with no friends to talk to. Also, the park grass is getting quite long - the site owner's ride-on mower has broken down yet again and he's having trouble finding somewhere to repair it....apparently 2 or 3 local mower repair outlets have closed down.
We're eating mainly out of the freezer this week, and it's freeing up space nicely. When there's a couple more drawers empty, I want to stock up on bread and milk to freeze, they're two of the things we get through quite a lot of, especially husband with bread, and he drinks numerous cups of tea a day. I don't eat bread every day, and I only eat sourdough - a particular brand (Jasons's) sold in Sainsbury's, it's a proper sourdough with very few ingredients and no yeast. As it's expensive I buy it when it's on special offer or yellow-stickered, getting 2 or 3 loaves at a time, which would last me about a month (they're smaller than a standard size loaf). Today we're having fish pie, the cooked fish pie mix is one I made double quantities of a couple of weeks ago and froze, the topping will be cheesy cauliflower mash, also frozen, so 2 items out of the freezer today.
Yes all the POA stuff is depressing, but like wills and insurance, in my opinion, necessary. The sole accounts would only be accessible once Probate has been granted, so it's still wise to have some joint money and some purely in your name. I did read (I think on the Gov website relating to POA) that some people can get a reduction in the cost. I didn't read what the criteria is, but might be worth a look.
ReplyDeleteThe weather here has warmed up a little, but still wet. The weather girl said this morning that the milder weather was going to last - for a day! Why is it that winter seems to go on forever, and summer is over in a flash? Could just be my old age! xx
Yes K, I saw that too about cost reduction for a PoA, but like you I didn't read the criteria....must go back and have a look, thanks for reminding me! It was pouring earlier, now the sun's come out, but more showers forecast today. We just never seem to get a day when it doesn't rain sometime or other, depressing isn't it. xx
DeleteIt's still called Power of Attorney here...We have everything in place...just in case. Both our names on everything to make access easy.
ReplyDeleteRaining here off and on.
hugs
Donna
It's good that you are looking into all this nice and early. Having at least one joint account along with your own personal account is always a good idea for instant cash access should anything happen to either of you.
ReplyDeleteI was sorry to hear about Paul O'Grady. I only knew him from his tv show from Battersea, Love of Dogs. He was so friendly and kind and genuinely loved dogs. Our banks are doing the same nonsense about appointments. Aggravating when you have to drive as far as I do to do banking etc.
ReplyDeleteIt is good to look into these things. My sister and I had POA over our father's accounts while he was ill and it made a big difference in our ability to get things done.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.