In this video, I talk about the three main types of business contracts to have in your business:

1.  Client Contracts

2.  Hiring Contracts

3.  Rental Contracts

If you have any questions about this topic, you can reach me at [email protected]

In this second part of the "Get it Writing 2020" series, you will learn whether emails back and forth can form a legal contract.  You will also learn things to look out for using e-mails to form agreements.

This video discussed the "why" of getting your legal agreements in writing and gives you three reasons why writing is better than a hand shake.

If you incorporate your business in Canada, you have a choice between incorporating federally or provincially.

Below is a listing of each of the corporate laws across Canada, along with a link to the government agency who administers the corporate law in that jurisdiction.

- Federal - Canada Business Corporations Act (Canada) - Corporations Canada

- Newfoundland & Labrador - Corporations Act (NL) - Service NL

- Nova Scotia - Companies Act (NS) - Registry of Joint Stock Companies

- Prince Edward Island - Business Corporations Act (PEI) - Corporate and Business Names Registry

- New Brunswick - Business Corporations Act (NB) - Service NB

- Quebec - Business Corporations Act (Quebec) -  Quebec Registry

- Ontario - Business Corporations Act (ON) - Service Ontario

- Manitoba - The Corporations Act (MB) - Companies Office Manitoba

- Saskatchewan - The Business Corporations Act (SK) - Corporate Registry

- Alberta - Business Corporations Act (Alberta) - Corporate Registry

- British...

This week’s video blog is on the topic of copyright and how to protect your business creations.

Click on the video link here to view.

You can find the website for the federal agency CIPO (Canadian Intellectual Property Office) referred to in the blog can be found here.

Happy New Year to each of you!  Thank you for signing up, reading, watching and commenting in 2017.

As we tend to do, I have made some personal and business resolutions for 2018.  My personal resolutions include eating less chips and swimming more.

For the first blog of January, I have picked the theme of Legal Resolutions for 2018.  Have you thought about making resolutions for your business relating to legal issues?

You can watch my Legal Lunch video on this topic here –

The above video has 8 topics for your consideration in making your legal resolutions for 2018:

1.  Website – Is your business website compliant with all legal requirements? If you have not received my freebie “5 Legal Bits to Have on Your Website”, you can download it here.

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2. Tax – Do you have any weird letter from CRA to be dealt with?  Have you talked to your accountant about the 2018 tax changes?

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3. Estate Planning – Do you need to make any updates to...

One of my most popular blog posts of 2017 was the one on “Do I Need A Will”.

If you have made a will and other estate planning documents (such as financial power of attorney, personal directives, guardianship appointments), CONGRATULATIONS! You get a gold star! Most people in Canada do not have an up to date will.

Since many of us will be spending time with our families over the holidays, it can be a good time to pass along some information to them about EITHER what you have put in place OR what you have planned.

1. Identity of Executor(s) – I often say that choosing an executor is the most important piece of your will planning. Has your executor agreed to take on the role? Do your family members know who you have chosen? You are not required to tell anyone, but it is a good idea to have a conversation with family members so you can explain your reasons, particularly if there may be some dispute or hurt feelings.
2. Location of Important Documents – Does your...

Check out this recent vlog on why you need a social media policy in your business:

https://youtu.be/m4qvZZyMFRQ

As we get into the holiday season, many of us are in a giving mood. But one of the important seasonal questions for business owners is – “Who Can Receive Dividends from my company this year?

For some context, the reason that we care about this question is primarily that paying dividends to family members in lower tax brackets can lower the overall tax burden for a family. This is possible because we have marginal tax rates which means that the lower your income in a year, the lower the rate of tax.

A business owner may also want to pay dividends out of their operating company to a holding company to provide some creditor protection or to purify their company to qualify for the capital gains exemption, but this is a topic for another blog post.

Here are some tips for determining who can receive dividends:

1. Remember that dividends are a distribution of a share of PROFIT. If the company is not profitable in the year, there can be no dividends.
2. Dividends have to be paid to ...

No one wants to find out after they have totaled their SUV that it is not covered by their insurance policy.

This was the case highlighted in a recent CTV news article, sent to me by one of the participants in my Legal Essentials course.  The headline was “Business owner’s occasional deliveries voids her insurance policy for wrecked car” .

The scary question for small business owners after reading such a story is – Should I have commercial insurance for my vehicle that I use in my business?

Here are my tips below:

Tip #1 – This is a conversation that you need to have with your insurance broker or insurance company. Confirm and document all such conversations in writing including what details you provided and what they said.

Tip #2 – Vehicles that are owned and registered to a company need Commercial Automobile Insurance.

Vehicles that are personally owned but used in the business may or may not need commercial coverage, depending on...