Do I REALLY need a lawyer to review my commercial lease?

Yes, having a lawyer review your commercial lease is highly recommended. They bring expertise that ensures legal compliance, mitigates risks, aids in negotiation, potentially saves costs, and provides peace of mind.

Here are some of the advantages:

• Time: In many cases, business owners are tied up trying to manage their new or existing business, in that they do not have enough time to look over every.single.word to ensure that the lease is not skew in the Landlord’s favour.

• Understanding Terms: A commercial lease agreement can be long and include many words that may be new or unfamiliar to a business owner. It is beneficial to have a lawyer review the lease agreement and explain particular clauses that may not be completely understandable to the lay eye.

• Finding Red Flags: Commercial leases can be 3, 5, or 10 years long, which can seem like an eternity if you are stuck in an unfavourable lease. A lawyer can identify those terms and clauses that may be arbitrary or unreasonable and advise for them to be eliminated.

• Risk mitigation: By thoroughly reviewing your lease contract, Beacon Law can identify and mitigate risks associated with the lease terms. This could include provisions related to liability, insurance requirements, maintenance responsibilities, or dispute resolution procedures.

• Cost-savings: While hiring a legal firm may seem like an added expense, it can save you money in the long run. A lawyer has the ability to maximize your return on investment by saving you money over the years. A lawyer’s review could cost less than one month’s rent which is worth the possible issues arising in the future.

• Showing seriousness: The act of having a lawyer review a lease shows the landlord that you are a serious tenant and you intend to understand and comply with your lease.

Beacon Law is specialised in commercial and business law and can assist with review of a commercial lease. Having a lawyer review your commercial lease is a wise investment for any business owner. Contact Beacon Law for more information.

Why choose Beacon Law Centre as your company’s registered and records office

As a business owner, your time and expertise are valuable assets that are best utilized in areas where you can generate the most value. However, the administrative burden of maintaining corporate records and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements can be overwhelming and detract from your core focus. That’s where Beacon Law comes in. Here’s why entrusting Beacon Law with your company’s Registered and Records Office responsibilities can benefit you:

• Streamline Your Business: Why choose Beacon Law to act as your company’s Registered and Records (R&R) office:

• Inspection readiness: Your corporate records must be available for inspection for at least two hours every business day to the public. If your company’s R&R office is your home, anyone wishing to view your shareholder list would have the right to enter your home.

• Personal Privacy: if your house is the R&R office, your home address is disclosed to the public on a company search.

• Expertise on Record Inspection: Beacon Law has the expertise on restricting and monitoring record access to third parties. Our team ensures that the appropriate information remains confidential and secure.

• Automated Filing of Annual Reports: Eliminate compliance worries by having Beacon Law file your annual reports. Save time and reduce administration burdens while staying compliant.

• Notification of Court Notices: Beacon Law provides a reliable address for receiving important legal correspondence.

• Hub for Notices: The R&R office is a place for directors to send their notices of resignation.

• Secured and Safe Record Keeping: Keeping your records at Beacon Law reduces the risk of accidentally losing or destroying your records.

• Ongoing Record organization: Benefit from Beacon Law’s commitment to keeping your records organized. Well-maintained records will enhance the attractiveness of your company to a potential buyer.

• Document Date Stamping: We date-stamp all notices which are delivered to the R&R office. This becomes important for limitation dates and limiting liabilities.

• Address Compliance: If you operate a BC corporation, the R&R office must be located in British Columbia. This may be important if you do not normally reside in BC.

A First-Time Home-Buyer Story

Bob and Robin had been married six years when they decided to buy a home. Their daughter Zoe was two years old and both were employed as software engineers in Vancouver. Some anxiety about the home purchase did arise, but their lawyer Kelvin Scheuer helped to sort it out. Here’s how…

Down payment in the bank

Bob’s employer was opening an office in Victoria where they wanted to raise their daughter. They had saved enough to make a down payment, and found a lovely little apartment near where Robin had grown up. Their first foray into real estate, the accepted offer was for $400,000 –barely in their price range!

Aiming for a tax exemption

Though they had saved for the down payment, there was no extra money. They continued to live frugally. Even so, they were counting on an exemption from the $6,000 due for BC Property Transfer Tax. Then Robin researched the exemption on-line, and discovered (in the small print) that, to qualify, the buyer must never have owned a residence anywhere in the world. Robin was so upset: Bob and his colleague had owned a tiny apartment together in Hong Kong where he had lived for a short time several years ago for his work!

Time to panic?

Kelvin stepped in to ensure that Bob and Robin could receive the tax exemption despite Bob’s previous home ownership. He noted that Robin, a Canadian citizen who had been living continuously in B.C. for well over a year, had not owned a residence before, and explained that the exemption could still be claimed as long as Robin was the sole purchaser. The couple were both fine with this, as they had shared all their assets since they married. The seller of their condo was agreeable to having Bob’s name removed from the offer, and Bob and Robin’s bank consented as long as Bob acted as guarantor of the mortgage.

The next generation

A few months after the sale had closed and they moved in, Bob and Zoe surprised Kelvin with a visit one day. Zoe was excited to show him their new dog, and she talked about taking the dog for walks in the park where Robin had played as a child. He couldn’t be more pleased!

Note: This story is fictional, it is not the story of any Beacon Law Centre clients. But Kelvin is real, and he really does like dogs. We have a dog-friendly office!

Estate Law Considerations: Executors Proceed Cautiously

Here’s What We’d Hope For

If we must die, we’d like:

• things to be organized and simple, so we can enjoy our final days with family or friends.

• our assets to transfer smoothly to our chosen family, friends, or charities.

• to save costs, if we can.

Probate Is Not Always Required

If your spouse survives you and is your primary beneficiary (or with a very simple estate), the transfer of your assets to your spouse can be easily achieved with proper planning. Minor legal assistance may be needed. The survivor spouse’s Will, Power of Attorney and Health Care Agreement may also need to be updated at this time, or new planning considered to efficiently pass the couple’s wealth to the next generation.

For the executor of a person who made their will at Beacon Law Centre, a free consultation is available to clarify the steps to follow.

When Probate Is Needed

When the last of two spouses dies (or with more complex estates) a BC Supreme Court Order, called a “Grant of Probate” (or “representation grant”), may be needed to handle the Estate. Here, the executors really should seek legal assistance in carrying out their responsibilities.

Liability Concerns Arise

Probate involves a variety of complex laws. While your executor may be bright and confident there is a high risk of personal liability if the estate incurs financial losses (even if mistakes are made innocently). Common risky behaviours exhibited by lay executors include:

• Starting to deal with the assets and then deciding not to act as executor.

• Failure to act impartially in the distribution of personal items.

• Failure to identify all the assets.

• Failure to identify (or pay) a liability before distributing funds to beneficiaries.

• Keeping risky or unauthorized investments, or failure to adequately insure property.

• Failure to include the proper parties in the Probate process.

• Failure to adhere to legally required time limits on distribution.

• Distributing without appropriate waivers or releases from beneficiaries.

• Failure to keep proper records and account adequately to beneficiaries or creditors.

• Errors in the handling of income tax matters.

• Paying out Executor fees without the proper approvals.

• Often, executors who are family or friends don’t discover that their handling of the matter was problematic until it is too late.

Family Strife Problems

When Probate is necessary, it will take several months to administer the Estate, even when the Executor is advised of all of the steps and is extremely efficient. Beneficiaries are often unaware or not sympathetic about the work required, and can be critical of the executor and the timeline and costs of proper administration. For this reason, some will-makers choose a friend or a professional advisor as executor in an attempt to preserve the relationships between their children. Others encourage their family member executors to engage an estate lawyer, to help them to avoid errors and give the others a further assurance that the estate is being well handled. We encourage our clients to think critically about their choice of executor.

Choice of Executor

The role of executor is not for the faint of heart, nor for the ’emotional one’ in the family. The most successful executors are objective and careful. They don’t let paperwork accumulate on the desk corner. They figure out what work to delegate, and what work to do themselves. They are not baited by petty displays or poor behavior, and will patiently and calmly rise above unwarranted criticism. So, look for these characteristics in choosing your executor.

Executor Fees

When Probate is involved, the person who acts as executor will nearly always decide to charge an executor fee because so much work is required. The fee (payable from your assets and regardless of who acts as executor) is usually in the range of 2% to 3.5% of the value of the estate assets. The maximum allowed (for disputed or complex estates, and also for small estates) is 5% of the value of the estate assets.

Too much emphasis is placed on avoiding or minimizing executor fees. Given the work involved, some kind of compensation is appropriate. The law has checks-and-balances to ensure the amount is reasonable. It is a much lower amount than the real estate commission payable when a house is sold, even though the executor’s duties often last for one or more years. Rather than worry about an executor fee — worry about choosing the right executor!

Opportunities and Action Steps

We advise to keep your will and other estate planning documents up to date, and to encourage your beneficiaries to do the same. Also, if your spouse or main beneficiary dies, update your documents and explore new ways to provide for your beneficiaries. The efficient passage of wealth from one generation to the next is a matter of being well informed and well organized. Contact Beacon Law to discuss further.