What is a Business Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)?

What is a Business Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)?

A Business LPA is a legal document that allows you to authorise a chosen individual (an Attorney) to make decisions concerning your business interests if you are unavailable or if you no longer have mental capacity to make decisions yourself.  You can find out more about personal LPAs here.

Why is a Business LPA important?

As a business owner, thinking about what would happen to your business if something were to happen to you or you were unable to make your own business decisions is very important. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• If you were on holiday and physically incapacitated;
• If you were in an accident or unwell and therefore physically unable to make certain decisions;
• If you lost mental capacity and no longer had the ability to make decisions relating to your business.

Business LPAs allow your nominated Attorneys to be able to make decisions should you be unable to do so yourself. For example; paying bills, issuing cheques, dealing with business loans, entering into contracts, authorising payments of salaries or expenses and purchasing new machinery.

Is a Business LPA right for my business?

It is important to consider whether a Business LPA is suitable for your business type.

If you are a sole trader then this is certainly worth considering.

However, if you are in a partnership or a Director of a company, you would need to consider the terms of the partnership agreement or company’s articles of association to see if there is already a relevant provision in place should you be unable to carry out any decisions relating to the business.

If preparing a Business LPA is something you would like to discuss further our expert solicitors at Johnson Astills would be pleased to assist you. In the event that there is concern surrounding mental capacity, we can obtain the relevant medical report from a medical professional before advising as to the options available.

Should you wish to prepare a Business LPA or personal LPAs, or discuss any concerns relating to mental capacity further, please feel free to call our expert solicitors at Johnson Astills who would be pleased to assist you with this. You can call us at our office in Leicester or our office in Loughborough. Alternatively, you may prefer to email us at legal@johnsonastills.com or fill in our enquiry form.