Running your own business comes with great advantages but also with responsibility and risk. You are likely to be directly responsible for your family’s income and, if you have employees, the income of others. Of course there are many ways of managing risk, such as joining forces with others rather than going it alone or taking out insurance that will provide critical illness and life cover for you and other key players within your business. However, if you or another key player were to suffer an accident or serious illness, you may still find yourself in serious difficulty.
Insurance policies usually provide limited cover and there can be a lengthy delay, or even an agreed deferment period, before payments are made. Your business could be brought to a standstill if no one is able to deal with the day to day management. If your business is a partnership or a company, the continuing partners or directors may be able to run the business in your absence, but you may want someone else, who you choose and trust, to become involved and look after your interests.
There is an easy solution to this dilemma. You appoint someone (called an attorney) to step into your shoes and make decisions on your behalf. This is achieved through the use of a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). Although often regarded for use in cases where individuals become mentally incapable, a LPA can be used at any time and is particularly useful if you are out of the country on a regular basis. If the worst were to happen and you lost mental capacity through accident or illness, your attorney (or attorneys) will act for you under the LPA.
Despite more frequent use being made of LPAs, we still see circumstances where the decline or even the end of a business could have been halted if a LPA had been in place.
For more information contact Ben Parmenter on 01245 453834 or email ben.parmenter@birkettlong.co.uk
