If you are a sole trader, a partner in a thriving professional practice or the director of a successful company, if your present and future financial security is not properly protected, then you are storing up problems for the future!

As a business owner you owe it to yourself, your dependants and your employees to ensure that in the event of your death, or that of a co-director or a key employee, the business and its future is not jeopardised. This is achieved through the use of Key person and Partnership or Shareholder protection.

Equally, in the event of something happening to an employee that stops them from working in the short, medium or long term, their commitment to you and your business would be significantly enhanced by the knowledge that their income was protected and secure whatever happened.

Also, there can be no doubt that without some form of privately funded retirement plan in place, one would face a very meagre retirement indeed. The fact that one must plan for one's own retirement is inescapable. A business can gain considerable tax advantages from involvement in funding retirement income for its employees, just as can the individual self-employed owner, partner or sole trader.

We advise a significant number of companies on their employee benefit packages covering all aspects.

"Thank you for all your help. We are both grateful for the time, effort and thought that you put into your responses. Your clarification of the details and articulation of the facts have enabled us to put relevant questions to the legal team. We now have a much clearer picture of the situation and a fuller understanding of the implications."

SUSAN & JOHN MARSHALL