Vital Knowledge for Canadian Retirement Planning

Every family business should have a succession plan in place.

This article will help you identify the issues to consider when planning your succession plan / exit strategy so that you can retire and pass on your business to the next generation.

Why does a family business need a succession plan?

This article by the Harvard Business Review discusses the reasons why family business owners need to design a transition plan to avoid tension, discord and disruption to business operations.

Topics Discussed

The topics covered in "Succession Planning and the Family Business" include:

• Examining the reasons for leaving the business to a specific family member.
• The most common mistakes in crafting a family-based succession plan.
• Determining what is best for succeeding generations.
• Tips for creating a successful succession plan.

Author Credit

This expert guide was written by Phil Thompson, business lawyer and corporate counsel in Ontario, Canada.

Cut your costs by hiring a job candidate as an independent contractor rather than an employee under this Independent Contractor Agreement for Ontario employers.

• Taxes and Remittances. The independent contractor is responsible for remitting his/her own income tax, HST, and other taxes and remittances.
• Contract Not Exclusive. The relationship between the parties is not exclusive. The contractor may perform similar services for other clients, and the employer may retain other contractors to provide the same or similar services.
• Expenses. The contractor will pay all of his/her own expenses, including transportation and meal expenses.
• Profits. The contractor bears his/her own risk of profit and loss with respect to the services performed.
• Confidentiality. The contractor agrees not to disclose or use any confidential information of the employer.
• Business Protection. The file includes a Business Protection Agreement with nondisclosure, non-competition and non-solicitation clauses, to be signed by the contractor prior to commencing work.
• Scope of Law. This Independent Contractor Agreement refers to specific labour laws of the Province of Ontario.

Prepare corporate resolutions to authorize a corporation to repurchase and cancel shares from a shareholder with this easy-to-use template.

• The shareholders consent to the repurchase and the directors authorize the transaction and set the share purchase price.
• The file includes a Certificate of Corporate Officer certifying that the corporation is financially able to repurchase the shares and pay its debts.
• The Corporate Resolutions Repurchasing Shares for Cancellation do not contain specific references to federal or state / provincial laws and could be used in many jurisdictions.
• The form is available as a MS Word download and easy to fill in or customize where required.

Office managers can prepare a concise Office Policy Manual for their workplace with this ready-made template.

• The template includes sections covering many topics, including:
  • working environment,
  • proper business conduct,
  • how the company deals with problems with an employee's performance of the job,
  • holiday and vacation time,
  • benefits package,
  • harassment,
  • pay scales,
  • incident reporting procedures,
  • on-the-job training and educational assistance.
• Every workplace should have a Policy Manual for its employees and managers to follow. You can download the template immediately after purchase.
• Available in MS Word format and fully customizable.

This ready-made Employee Manual is a comprehensive template of policies and procedures you can use for your company.

• The Manual covers all of the general topics related to employment matters including:
  • expectations of both the employer and the employee with respect to job performance,
  • benefits packages,
  • vacation, holidays and paid leave,
  • personnel administration,
  • performance review process,
  • insurance coverage (medical, long-term disability, etc),
  • profit sharing and incentive programs,
  • professional code of conduct,
  • company meetings.
• This Employee Manual template is a fully customizable MS Word document.
• This is a generic document that can be used anywhere.