Young business owners in Lancashire urged to look at potential legal game changer

Some 54 per cent of 18-24 year-olds and 53 per cent of 25-34 year-olds polled in the YouGov survey commissioned by Napthens didn’t know their future wishes could be threatened without a legal document such as a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA).

LPAs are becoming increasingly popular - allowing individuals to appoint a trusted person to make future decisions on their behalf if they were to lose mental capacity.

Kathryn Harwood, head of wills and estate planning at Napthens, said: “This shows how we need to educate younger people about how important taking out a document such as a Lasting Power of Attorney is, particularly where they have a business to consider.

“These documents are also applicable where someone may lose capacity because of illness, an accident or another event as well as age and are entirely relevant to safeguard the future of your business and your family.

“Many people aren’t aware that their next of kin does not have an automatic right or legal entitlement to deal with the affairs of a family member. Only someone who is legally appointed as an Attorney can deal with the affairs of someone else.”

On the otehr hand, some 77 per cent of over-55s in the Napthens survey said they knew how important it is to have documents in place to hand over decision-making on such issues.