Areas of Practice
Real estate
Buying a home
Review of the agreement and the title, the lender’s mortgage instructions, land transfer tax and any first-time buyer refund, and closing funds and keys on the day. Every cost is explained before closing, not after.
Selling a home
Paying out and discharging the mortgage, answering the buyer’s lawyer’s requisitions, and getting the sale proceeds to you on closing day.
Refinances and title changes
New, private and second mortgages, and adding or removing a person from title, including transfers between spouses and family members.
Commercial property
Purchases, sales and leases of commercial and industrial property, including existing tenancies, zoning, and environmental and municipal compliance.
Land transfer tax calculator →
Buying a home: from offer to keys →
Buying a condo: the status certificate →
Wills and estates
Wills and powers of attorney
Wills and powers of attorney for property and personal care. For business owners, primary and secondary wills can keep private company shares out of the probate calculation.
Estate administration
Support for estate trustees from the first weeks onward: applying for probate, dealing with banks and the Canada Revenue Agency, selling estate property, and accounting to and paying the beneficiaries.
Trusts
Henson trusts for beneficiaries who receive disability support, and trusts in a will for young children.
Wills and powers of attorney: how it works →
Estate administration: help for estate trustees →
Business
Incorporations
A corporation set up with a share structure that fits the owners, with room for new shareholders, family members and an eventual sale.
Shareholder agreements
Who decides what, what happens when an owner leaves, dies or wants out, and how shares are valued and bought back.
Business strategy
Growing a business raises legal questions that rarely arrive one at a time. Ownership structure, financing, key contracts, and eventual succession all bear on one another, and choices made early tend to narrow the options available later. We advise owner-managed businesses on how those pieces fit together, and on the practical trade-offs involved in each.
Buying and selling a business
Share and asset purchases, including management buyouts, vendor financing and the closing documents.
Commercial leases
Drafting and reviewing leases for landlords and tenants.
Notary services
Notarizing documents, certifying true copies and commissioning affidavits.