Guiding You Through the Intersection of Wealth & Family Ties

Breaking Down the Complexities of Corporate Law

Customized Legal Advice For Family Businesses & Succession Planning

At Bakers & BBLT Association Law firm, we have the extensive knowledge, credentials, forethought, and sensitivity to help clients plan for the future and protect their assets. We represent individuals, business owners, executives, and families to achieve their goals and minimize current and future liabilities.

Working closely with our clients, and together with their other professional advisors, we develop and implement asset protection strategies to preserve their estate. Not only do we consider how to manage taxes, we strive to ensure that succeeding generations can receive more of the family wealth through putting estate plans in place that work for your circumstances and may involve:

Creating wills or multiple wills.
Protecting against changing family circumstances, including changes to relationship statuses.
Structuring and implementing trusts (i.e., Family Trusts, Alter Ego Trusts, Joint Spousal Trusts).
Transferring businesses to family members.
Exploring charitable planning.

Bakers & BBLT Association Law firm also provides advice to beneficiaries, trustees, financial institutions, nonprofits, and others named in wills and trusts and assists them with, among other things: obtaining estate grants and probate; administering estates and trusts; minimizing taxes and probate fees; and, distributing assets to the appropriate beneficiaries.

When matters necessitate, Bakers & BBLT Association Law firm also has the experience to handle estate and trust litigation, including wills variation claims, proceedings to remove trustees, interpretation proceedings and contested executor fees.

Certified Experience You Can Trust

When designing and implementing estate plans, we strive to meet the diverse personal and financial needs of our clients. We regularly assist blended families and clients whose intended beneficiaries are persons with disabilities, as we are well-equipped to address their unique needs.

Andy L. Harris and Brooke Fernandes are designated Trust and Estate Practitioners who frequently assist individuals and entire families. They, along with our dedicated team of paralegals and legal assistants, have the credentials and the experience to answer questions around clients’ businesses and philanthropic wishes.

Read more about what we do in the areas of:

Estate Litigation and Dispute Resolution
Estate Planning
Wills and Trusts
Powers of Attorney and Representation Agreements
Probate and Estate Administration

Knowing what can derail a transaction — and what will not — ensures that our clients are well-informed and well-represented throughout the process of selling or buying a business.

How can we help you?

Bakers & BBLT Association Law’s experience and understanding of deals in British Columbia create practical solutions for dispositions and acquisitions, changes in legal structure, and management of regulatory risks. We represent privately held companies, strategic acquirers, family offices and other investors and ensure that they achieve maximum tax savings.

Developing a relationship with our clients means that we add value by identifying key drivers and trends and establishing long-term safeguards that will help our clients navigate and grow their businesses. From tax to disclosure and regulatory compliance, we provide legal solutions that may arise during:

Purchase and sale of businesses, including advising on options for sale structures and tax implications.
Incorporations, including preparation of beneficial share structures, corporate registrations, and the maintenance of corporate records.
Franchising, including setting up franchise systems, reviewing franchise documentation and purchase of a franchised business.
Negotiations of employment contracts.
Corporate reorganizations and restructurings.
Planning for business succession.
Drafting and reviewing business contracts.

Related Services

Contract Drafting & Negotiation
Corporate Restructuring & Reorganization
Employment Law
Incorporation
Mergers & Acquisitions

At Bakers & BBLT Association Law firm, our belief is that family businesses form the foundation of strong communities. They have the potential to outperform nonfamily firms and to succeed where other businesses fail in difficult economic times. But capitalizing on their inherent strengths and opportunities requires successfully navigating the challenges unique to family enterprises.

Our family business advisors benefit our clients in receiving integrated advice in other business disciplines. We collaborate with accountants, bankers, financial planners, insurance advisors and other professionals to provide clients with a support system to navigate distinctive family business issues.

The Bakers & BBLT Association

Law Advantage: A Wide Range of Business Services Under One Roof

Each family-owned business has exceptional ambitions, growth plans, widely differing personalities and unlimited combinations of interrelationships among individuals and entities. There is no one way to manage a family business and our team is dedicated to helping families realize and achieve their business and family objectives.

Andy L. Harris is one of the few lawyers in Vancouver, BC and the Fraser Valley certified as a Family Enterprise Advisor (FEA). He leads our team to provide strategic legal advice within the specific context of family-run businesses, including:

Family enterprise strategy: assist in the review and execution of a business plan that encapsulates your family vision, values, financial goals and succession plan.

Family governance: assist in building a formal board structure, policies, internal controls and accountability to remove the potential for relationships and emotions to obstruct decision making that is in the best interest of the family business.

Exit strategies and ownership transition: ensure a smooth transition by determining strategic and viable options that align with your personal and company goals. We can also assist with outside buyer transactions, ownership structures, next generation transition or recapitalization of the company.

Succession planning and next generation development: work with your next generation of leadership to prepare them for the unique family business dynamics they will encounter and the future of the business.

Family dynamics and conflict resolution: address problems around ownership, roles and responsibilities, and the future of the business, while maintaining a focus on the goals of the business and each individual family member. Our team can also mediate and assist with these critical and sensitive issues through family meetings.

Wealth preservation and management: provide integrated estate planning advice to individuals and families that ensure the succession of the business to future generations.

Wills, trusts and estates planning: assist in developing a plan that realizes your family, business and charitable legacies, all while minimizing your tax impact.

Our Practice Areas

Corporate Commercial Law