The consequences of an accident, sudden illness or loss of capacity can be serious for small business owners. Having Lasting Powers of Attorney in place ensures it would be ‘business as usual’ if you couldn’t be there.
In smaller businesses, it’s often down to the owner to make important decisions, manage the finances and pay the wages. So, if something happened that meant you suddenly couldn’t, it could cause serious and unexpected problems for the business.
Only recently, one of our clients had to spend time in hospital recovering from an accident and was unable to manage his affairs. The impact on the running of the business was huge. Wages could not be paid as he was the only authorised signature on the business bank account. And essential business matters and decisions had to be put on hold because no one else could deal with them.
Another recent client case involved a married couple with separate bank accounts. All the household bills and essential payments were made from the husband’s account. Unfortunately, when he became incapacitated, his wife could not access his account to ensure the bills still got paid.
Peace of mind that your affairs will be taken care of
Whether you’re a sole trader, sole director, partnership business, Limited company shareholder or a married couple holding separate bank accounts, a Lasting Power of Attorney to cover your business as well as your personal matters could prove invaluable.
If you’re not sure that you need one, take a few moments to think about what might happen with your business and personal affairs if, for example, you suffered an accident or a short illness, needed to be out of the country for some time, or lost mental capacity.
In each of those scenarios, your nominated attorney(s) would be able to step in and act on your behalf on a temporary basis, until such time as you could do so yourself.
Next steps
Arrange a free consultation with our Client Relationship Manager, Sharon Rigden, to discuss making Lasting Powers of Attorney for your business and personal financial affairs. Please email srigden@rfmlegal.co.uk or call 07595 505793.
Your consultation will take place at a time and location to suit you and you will not be obliged to act on the advice given.