Law Report: With Haroon Qayum of Harrogate's LCF Law

In our role as professional advisers a lot of what we do involves asking ‘what if?’ To the business owner/manager that often brings to mind the question ‘what if I’m unable to run my business due to illness?’.

The only way for a business to keep running smoothly when an owner becomes ill and or loses capacity, is to put a Power of Attorney in place in advance of that possibility.

Just like insurance against a disaster – we hope it never happens but if it does, we are covered.

A Power of Attorney is a legal document that allows someone, while they still have full mental capacity, to nominate a trusted person to make financial decisions on their behalf in case they lose capacity.

A Power of Attorney is the only way to choose who will deal with your business affairs if you are unable to do so. That person needs to have the skills, experience, and knowledge to keep the business going if they are unable to make day-to-day decisions, so it’s essential this is thought through and planned for.

We have had first-hand experience where clients who have been sole directors and principal shareholders of businesses did not have a Power of Attorney in place and unfortunately, the companies had to fold, as it was impossible for those left in the business to pay staff, pay rent, and pay suppliers.

In addition to putting a Power of Attorney in place, there are other simple steps that they should take to avoid business disruption if the business owner were to suddenly become ill, for example:

* Review the bank mandate and ensure that there is more than one signature.

* Ensure that online banking details are available to someone else.

For further information, email Haroon Qayum at [email protected] or ring 01423 502 211.

LCF Law’s team can be contacted via telephone, Teams and WhatsApp, or visit www.lcf.co.uk