Published on: 14th September 2020

Leaving a business in a Will

What would happen to your business if…? This is a question we always ask when carrying out an Estate Plan with our Clients, and the answer is to make sure you have considered all options so you can ‘leave your business’ in your Will, as this article explains.

There are around 1.5 million small businesses in the UK that employ 1 to 9 staff. Each business is unique. Many started as a “one man band” and the business grew as the years passed by. If you are a business owner you are probably very busy wearing many different hats such as : Sales / Marketing / Finance / Payroll / HR / Recruitment / Covid / IT / Production / Compliance / Insurance / etc etc

You have probably got plans in place if something happened to the IT system or the offices were flooded ~ But have you ever stopped to think what would happen to the business if something happened to you?

The detail will differ if you are a sole trader or partnership or limited company. Has your accountant ever raised this with you? If not why not?

Is there a partnership agreement in place? Or a shareholder agreement? Do you know about cross option agreements? If something happened to you would your spouse be able / want to carry on the business?

We carry out Business Planning for business owners as part of their Estate Plan so that they can leave their business as they wish in their Will. We can help you make sure that if something did happen to you, your business that you have worked so hard to build up goes where you want it to. You might want a couple of trusted managers to run the business whilst giving them some shares whilst your spouse holds the majority so she has control.

If you die and you do not have a business plan in place your competitors will have taken your customers before your executors have obtained a Grant of Probate. We can write a Will that allows your executors to continue running your company during the period until the Grant of Probate is granted.

And have you thought about what would happen to your business if you had an accident and lost mental capacity. We create Business Lasting Powers of Attorney that allow your attorneys to act for you.

Having a meeting with a Casey & Associates Consultant regarding your business affairs could well give you, your family and your staff much needed “Peace of Mind” that your business is being left as you wish in your Will.

To arrange an appointment please contact us using the contact page on our website here or telephone 01732 868190.

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Our Covid-19 policy is now that if you require general information about our Wills, Lasting Powers of Attorney or Trusts then we will carry out a telephone appointment. However, if you wish to give instructions to one of our Consultants we are offering Face to Face appointments from 02 September 2020 in most of the areas we normally cover (subject to Government advice). To see the areas we normally cover please click here.

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