Stay in London With Your Mother-in-Law?

So, you should visit your mother-in-law in London but don't really want to stay the night with her? Well, there are plenty of alternative places to stay in London and loads of things to do whilst in the Capital.

Hotels in London are quite well-known for their high costs; however, if you have some foresight and plan ahead, you can stay there without emptying your pockets. Accommodation in London is variable, ranging from luxury, 5-star hotels to snug and comfortable bed & breakfast pubs and guest houses. A great way to save money on accommodation in London without staying with your mother-in-law is to simply choose to go in the off-season time. Accommodation in London is extremely expensive and quite hard to find over the summer. In general, accommodation in London is the most expensive in the UK and Ireland.

It's possible to stay in London on a slim budget. B&Bs are comparatively cheap places where you can stay in London and still be comfortable.

You could even become a member of Hostelling International and get discounts on accommodation, trips, activities and admission to museums and cultural centres. If you get an international youth hostel card, you can stay in London hostels for under $30 a night. You can join through your local Youth Hostel Association.

Your mother-in-law may offer you a meal but if not there are plenty of places to eat, but eating out is generally expensive in London. But it is a place that enjoys diverse restaurants offering cuisines of different kinds and places. In fact, they rival the restaurants of some of the modern and thickly populated American cities like New York and San Francisco.

Some of the finest bars and restaurants in London may be on your mother-in-law's doorstep, along with many attractions like Buckingham Palace and the Royal Academy of Arts.

London has some ambitious Indian restaurants that offer outstanding and original Indian cuisine. Some Indian restaurants even specialise in the cuisines of another country, calling it their own and attracting new admirers to it.

You may prefer French food and whilst there are excellent French restaurants in London they can also be found in Greater London, too. It's true that restaurants in London are famous for variety and you'll find just about every type of food imaginable from all over the world but probably not quite like your mother-in-law will provide! Restaurants in London are certainly not cheap and you may sometimes have to cough up more than you bargained for! Remember that if you stay at a guest house in London, you may be able to arrange an evening meal along with your bed and breakfast.

Some of the places you can visit whilst you are in London include the British Museum, Natural History Museum, the London Eye, Tate Modern, National Gallery, Science Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Madam Tussauds (now with a new figure of Michael Jackson), the Tower of London and National Maritime Museum. Other places to visit in London include Covent Garden, Harrods in Knightsbridge for some retail therapy, the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, London Zoo, Hampton Court Palace (try the maze) and Kew Gardens. A guest house in London makes a very good base from which to visit all of these interesting places.

House Passes Bill on Deceased Students' Private Student Loans

The U.S. House of Representatives on Sept. 28 passed the Christopher Bryski Student Loan Protection Act (H.R. 5458), which would require lenders that issue private student loans to provide additional information to co-signers about their financial obligations on the student loans they co-sign following the death of the primary borrower.

Private student loan issuers would also have to offer information to borrowers about filing a durable power of attorney (DPOA) nomination that would permit another person to make financial, legal, and medical decisions in the event of death or disability of the primary borrower while any of the borrower's private student loans remain open.

A Student Loan Bill With Its Roots in a Family Tragedy

This student loan protection act was sponsored by New Jersey Democratic Rep.

John Adler and was named after Christopher Bryski, a 23-year old college graduate who suffered a serious brain injury in a 2003 accident and died in 2005, after spending two years in a persistent vegetative state. While in college, Bryski had taken out nearly ,000 in private student loans, for which his father had co-signed. After Bryski's accident, his private college loans defaulted, and the lender sought repayment, along with interest, from Bryski's father.

When a student borrower dies or becomes permanently disabled, the balance of any government-issued student loans the borrower had is typically discharged.

In the case of non-federal, private student loans, however, the lender will still seek repayment from the co-signer.

The proposed law is not designed to force private lenders to discharge student loan debts for deceased borrowers, but rather to disclose the co-signer's responsibilities in case the borrower dies or becomes incapacitated while a student loan balance is outstanding. Co-signers guarantee loan repayment but often lack the legal standing to handle a primary borrower's finances should a borrower become incapacitated, as occurred in the Bryski case.

The law would also require university financial aid offices to make similar disclosures to students who are applying for private student loans.

Legislation Could Spur Borrowers to Seek Insurance Protections for Private Student Loans

Should the legislation pass both houses of Congress, it is likely to change the landscape for borrowers and co-borrowers when it comes to the repayment of private student loans.

The bill carries no insurance provisions for student loans, but savvy co-borrowers may be more apt to look into student loan insurance plans, life insurance plans, and other financial protection strategies that could pay off the balance of the student loan if the borrower dies or becomes completely disabled, leaving substantial student loan debts.

Life insurance will generally only pay off an insured borrower's private student loans if the borrower dies. However, disability insurance or student loan insurance packages could pay off outstanding college loans if the primary borrower defaults under other circumstances.

The new law would also require private lenders to offer entrance counseling to borrowers to encourage them to set up a DPOA. Borrowers would not be obligated to actually establish a DPOA or other advance directive, but advocates of the bill hope that the counseling requirement could open the door for better communication between lenders and borrowers, as well as between borrowers and co-signers.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where Rep. Adler hopes to find both a sponsor and a receptive audience to the plight of families who may have to assume substantial student loan debt following the incapacity or death of a student borrower.