Montreal Professional Corporate and Commercial Lawyers

Many Quebec healthcare professionals, including physicians, dentists, and optometrists, begin their practices as independent contractors, sole proprietors or they elect to create a partnership with others in their field. These business structures are initially appealing due to the simplicity of their creation and dissolution, which can provide needed flexibility as you forge ahead with your career.

However, as your practice expands, it may be highly beneficial to consider professional incorporation as part of an overall plan for long-term growth and asset protection for medical professional corporations.

Understanding when and how to incorporate your professional practice is essential. While incorporation for healthcare professionals has many benefits, it also involves costs and complexities that may make it inappropriate for certain situations.

Our dedicated lawyers can analyze your practice’s operations, objectives, and aspirations to determine the business structure best suited to your needs. We understand that embarking on major changes in your practice can be daunting.

However, our team is passionate about providing personalized legal support during every step of the incorporation process and beyond so you can bring your plans to fruition with your practice.

What Is the Incorporation Process? How and Why Do Corporations Help Healthcare Professionals Achieve Their Short-Term and Long-Term Financial Goals?

A corporation creates a legal entity that is separate from your personal finances and affairs. A corporation possesses many of the same legal rights as a physical person; it can purchase property, secure loans, and receive remuneration from clients, patients, or insurers.

Forming an isolated vehicle through which you can operate your practice has the advantage of limiting some of your personal liability for business-related financial risks. Corporations are also taxed at a preferential rate, therefore restructuring could significantly reduce your overall tax burden.

What Preliminary Steps Are Required Prior To Completing The Incorporation Process?

Every professional order dictates specific rules and regulations that must be carefully followed. Skipping fundamental steps early in the process can result in negative consequences and undue hassle for a professional corporation. Our firm happily assists clients completing these preliminary steps in order to comply with the regulations of the given professional order.

What Does the Incorporation Process Look Like?

Once the preliminary steps have been completed, the incorporation process can begin. For many healthcare professionals, the procedure can be broken into four basic steps.

Incorporation, Registration, and Organization

Our legal team will be with you in order to determine the appropriate jurisdiction (federal or provincial) for your corporation based on the objectives and business activities. Once we receive confirmation on behalf of the Registrar of Enterprises, that the corporation has been constituted, our team will then obtain your coporate tax numbers and draft the legal documentation to be inserted into the corporation’s minute book.

It is a requirement under the law to keep and maintain on an annual basis your corporate minute book. A minute book plays an essential role in securing funding from investors, protecting you in the event of an audit, and validating the corporation’s operations to potential buyers. Our legal team will then provide you with the instructions you need in order to open any corporate bank accounts and related credit card applications.

Obtaining The Required Authorization From Your Professional Order

A crucial step in the incorporation process is applying to your professional order obtaining the authorization from your professional order to practice your profession through the new corporate entity. Unfortunately, obtaining this authorization can be extremely time consuming.

Therefore, our team recommends planning ahead in order to avoid any potential delays in launching your business. During your initial consultation, our team will provide further information on what to expect at this stage and how to proactively prepare.

Registering Your Corporate Account With the Régie de L’assurance Maladie du Québec (RAMQ)

Medical professionals who receive patient payments through the RAMQ must register their corporate accounts with the organization. By updating your payment information, you ensure that all future payments are routed to your business accounts as opposed to your personal accounts. Keeping your corporate and personal finances entirely separated is critical to maintaining the limited liability and tax benefits associated with incorporation.

Updating Your Professional Liability Insurance

To ensure continued insurance protection, you should inform your liability insurance carrier that you will subsequently be operating your practice as a corporation. Failure to inform your insurer in a timely manner can result in a potentially detrimental gap in coverage for not having informed your insurer of a change in your professional situation.

MÉDICALOI‘s team can happily assist you with this step and help tie up any other loose ends as you transition into conducting your practice as a corporate entity.

Why Choose the MÉDICALOI Team?

At MÉDICALOI, we pride ourselves on building strong, lasting client relationships. We aim to create flexible business and legal strategies that can adapt and grow with your professional practice. A professional corporation generally should not be a static entity. Your corporation must be properly maintained through annual reviews, structure upkeep, and frequent reevaluation of tax and business needs to remain effective and efficient.

Whether you are exploring incorporation for the first time or wish to review the suitability of your current corporate structure, our skilled lawyers can provide detailed guidance based on years of corporate and commercial law experience. Reach out to our Montreal law office today at 438-805-5515 to schedule an in-depth complimentary intake meeting to learn how we can support your business goals.