Family Business Advising

Customized Legal Advice For Family Businesses & Succession Planning

At BKS Law, 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 BKS 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.

Kim Karras is one of the few lawyers in South Surrey-White Rock and the Fraser Valley certified as a Family Enterprise Advisor (FEA). She 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.