I am making plans this weekend as it is a week to my summer holidays and I am busy delegating! Part of having a restful holiday is knowing that you have covered off client matters and management tasks so that it is business as usual for everyone while you are away. I am really lucky because I know the team at Jacksons can be relied on to do whatever is necessary for our clients and the firm.
Going through all of this does make you think though – what would happen if the period of absence was sudden and unexpected and was longer than the average summer break. What if one was to get stuck abroad as following the Iceland volcano ash clouds or if serious illness struck? Jacksons is a partnership and therefore if anything were to happen to me my fellow partners can step in and make decisions for the practice. They can sign cheques or authorise bank transfers and deal with employees- indeed Jacksons could continue as normal whether I am there or not – perhaps I should be considering a sabbatical! However, if I was the only owner or director of the business what would happen? Would my staff not be paid, would stock supplies be run down because suppliers couldn’t be paid, would legal documents such as contracts be left uncompleted because there was no-one to sign them? This is something that many business owners don’t want to think about but in an age when we are all being asked to look at disaster recovery plans isn’t it something that should be considered?
Many people know that, in addition to a will, they should have lasting powers of attorney to give the capacity to someone they trust to make decisions with regard to their finances and/or their health and welfare in the event that they do not have capacity to do so. However, it is not always appropriate to appoint the same person who makes the decision on your medical treatment or your personal finances usually a family member or very close friend to also make decisions about your business. However, it is now possible to make a separate lasting power of attorney for your business affairs appointing someone different who you think would be able to manage your business if you were unable to do so. This person can be picked for their business acumen either in general or in respect of your particular business.
Our private client team are specialists at advising on all types of lasting power of attorney as well as wills. They can explain the information required and how to make decisions on what lasting powers of attorney you require and how to put these in place for peace of mind.
If you would like further information on this please contact Helen Milburn, in our Tees Valley office, on 01642 356 500 or Katharine Ayris, in Newcastle on 0191 232 2574 and they will be delighted to talk to you.
