We offer a variety of legal services to businesses. Our firm can provide you with advice and assistance with respect to incorporation, name registration, partnership and shareholder agreements, purchase or sale of a business, leases and contracts.
We strongly recommend that anyone starting or purchasing a business first obtain professional accounting and legal advice.
Incorporation
As the owner of a small business, we strongly recommend that you explore the benefits of incorporating. The advantages include limited liability, tax savings and the ability to do sophisticated estate planning.
Limited Liability protects your personal assets if your business runs into debt or goes bankrupt (with some minor exceptions).
A lawyer can review your situation and give you professional advice on incorporation and how to arrange your business affairs. Should you decide to incorporate, your lawyer handle all of the paperwork and government filings from start to finish.
Buying or Selling a Business
Whether you are buying or selling, there is a lot to consider. It is important that you have a carefully drafted Offer of Purchase and Sale. The Offer will set out such items as the price, deposit, closing date, items sold, transfer of leases and other contracts, provision of financial statements, warranties as to the accuracy of information, and non-competition clauses.
In addition to drafting or reviewing the offer your lawyer will conduct corporate tax and security searches, review leases and other contracts, prepare all the agreements and corporate minutes and attend on the closing to handle the exchange of funds.
Partnership or Shareholder Agreements
When two or more people enter business together it is important that they agree on issues that could arise and prepare a Partnership or Shareholder Agreement to avoid future conflicts.
A Partnership Agreement is used when the business is not incorporated. A Shareholder Agreement is used when the business is incorporated.
The purpose of these Agreements is to set out what the parties’ responsibilities and entitlements will be and how issues will be handled if problems arise. The Agreement should spell out who owns what, how profit is divided, how much money or work is required from each party, and what happens if a party dies or wants to leave.
Contracts and Agreements
Businesses must deal with a wide variety of contracts and agreements. Failing to obtain legal advice can lead to major problems.
Whether you require a Lease, a Loan, a Personal Guarantee or an Employment Contract we can help. We can prepare the documents, assist with negotiation on your behalf or review an Agreement that has been provided to you.