A key component of any successful business is making sure you are using the best ownership structure for your situation. The structure you use will potentially impact both your business and yourself as owner in a number of areas, including legal liability, taxes, financings, flexibility for the future, and recognizing different ownership interests of different parties.

While when dealing with business the most common structure used will be a company, there are many other structures which can be considered, including a sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, joint venture and trusts.

It is also important to ensure that, whichever structure you choose, it is properly maintained and kept up to date, and that you are kept apprised of ongoing developments in the law relating to that structure (such as the new Transparency Registry requirements for both federal and provincial companies).

Accordingly whether you are just starting out, or are a long established business, our team can help make sure that you have, and are maintaining, the best structure for your business.

Legal services we provide in this area include:

• Helping you decide what structure is best for you
• Incorporating companies, both provincially and federally
• Extra-provincially registering companies in other jurisdictions
• Maintaining corporate records, including annual reports and dividend planning
• Drafting shareholders agreements, partnership agreements, and trust agreements
• Mergers, amalgamations, wind-ups, dissolutions and other corporate restructuring transactions
• Complex tax-planned reorganizations