DRG LawENPT647-584-0998Send your question

Journal

Read before the decision hardens.

Articles for Ontario owners weighing a lease, company structure, closing, contract, succession question, or personal exposure. Damaris writes the legal side in plain English or Portuguese before the document moves.

ReadingOntario business decisionsFromDamaris Regina Guimaraes

In this issue

01Business

Read before you sign: Ontario leases, contracts, and share agreements.

02Real Estate

Five clauses to read before signing a commercial lease in Ontario.

03Real Estate

What a personal guarantee actually does on an Ontario commercial lease.

04Real Estate

What an Ontario commercial lease relocation clause actually lets your landlord do.

Damaris Regina GuimaraesDRG Law

Featured article

Three legal documents on cream paper arranged on a walnut desk with a brass paperweight, fountain pen, and cream blotter in warm afternoon lightThree legal documents on cream paper arranged on a walnut desk with a brass paperweight, fountain pen, and cream blotter in warm afternoon light

BusinessJune 6, 202614 min read

Read before you sign: Ontario leases, contracts, and share agreements.

Commercial leases, shareholders agreements, commercial contracts, corporate resolutions, every signature transfers legal control. Read the four document types Ontario owners get wrong most often.

Read the article

The journal

Latest by format.

The weekly system is easier to use when each piece has a job: the Counsel Note frames the decision, Clause in the Margin reads one sentence closely, and the checklist turns the issue into a review tool.

Counsel Notes

The main article for the decision before the document moves.

Selling a business does not automatically transfer the commercial leaseJuly 28, 2026Founder vesting in Ontario corporations: what happens to the company if a co-founder leaves in Year One.July 14, 2026Share purchase or asset purchase: the structure decision before due diligence.June 3, 2026

Clause in the Margin

Short clause readings for the sentence that changes the exposure.

When a share sale can activate a commercial lease transfer clauseJuly 28, 2026What the good-standing clause actually requires before your commercial lease renewal takes effect.July 22, 2026How an Ontario commercial lease renewal clause shapes your control of the space after Year Five.July 22, 2026

Checklists

Downloadable review tools built from the same weekly issue.

The relocation clause your landlord delivers is not the one you should sign.Ontario commercial leasesThe renewal clause decides who controls the rent at the end of the first term.Ontario commercial leasesFifty-fifty ownership feels fair until the first real disagreement.Ontario shareholder agreements

Start here

Browse by decision.

Six situations Ontario owners bring to DRG Law: commercial leases, company structure, real estate closings, personal guarantees, the same-lawyer process, and legal clarity in English or Portuguese. Each one opens the guide for that decision.

Before you signClauses to read before any commercial document moves.Business structureThe decision behind the company, the shares, the partners.Real estate decisionsClosings, refinances, commercial leases across Ontario.Personal exposureWhere the personal guarantee touches the company commitment.Same-lawyer processWhy one lawyer holds the file from first call to closing.English / Portuguese legal clarityHow the file runs in the language the owner reads in.

Counsel Notes

The main notes.

Counsel Notes frame the decision, the risk, the price, the timing, and the next step before the owner signs, waives, renews, or commits.

BusinessJuly 28, 20268 min readSelling a business does not automatically transfer the commercial leaseA business sale can close while the buyer's right to keep operating from the leased premises remains unresolved.Read the article →BusinessJuly 14, 20268 min readFounder vesting in Ontario corporations: what happens to the company if a co-founder leaves in Year One.Founder shares are issued on day one but should not vest on day one. Without a vesting schedule, a co-founder who leaves in Year One keeps the same equity as one who stays for ten, and the company carries a passive shareholder with no operating contribution.Read the article →BusinessJune 3, 20266 min readShare purchase or asset purchase: the structure decision before due diligence.Six factors decide whether an Ontario business sale runs as a share purchase or an asset purchase: tax exposure, employee continuity, liability transfer, records, permits, and closing complexity. The structure question gets answered before due diligence starts.Read the article →Real EstateJune 3, 20266 min readWhat to ask your real estate lawyer at the offer stage.Eight questions belong in the offer letter, before the conditions in the offer expire. Calling a real estate lawyer after the deal is firm closes most of the protective doors. The eight questions below are the short list to ask while the offer is still open.Read the article →

Clause in the Margin

The clause readings.

Clause in the Margin pieces slow down one standard-form sentence and show what it actually gives, takes, blocks, or triggers.

BusinessJuly 28, 20265 min readWhen a share sale can activate a commercial lease transfer clauseA share sale can leave the tenant corporation unchanged and still activate the lease's transfer restriction.Read the article →Real EstateJuly 22, 20265 min readWhat the good-standing clause actually requires before your commercial lease renewal takes effect.A short good-standing condition can decide whether a renewal option is real. The wording matters: what counts as default, when the test is applied, and whether a cured or disputed issue can still be raised.Read the article →Real EstateJuly 22, 20267 min readHow an Ontario commercial lease renewal clause shapes your control of the space after Year Five.A standard-form renewal clause hands the landlord the rent number and the exercise mechanics. Three terms inside the clause, the rent-reset mechanism, the notice window, and what carries over, decide whether the option protects the tenant or the landlord.Read the article →BusinessJuly 16, 20264 min readWhat the forfeiture clause in a founder vesting agreement actually does when a co-founder leaves.A standard forfeiture clause lets the corporation choose forfeiture or repurchase on its own terms, with no floor on price and no independent appraisal. Three phrases inside the standard sentence decide what a departing founder actually keeps.Read the article →Real EstateJune 26, 20264 min readWhat the demolition clause in an Ontario commercial lease actually lets your landlord do.The demolition clause lets a landlord end a commercial lease for redevelopment on short notice, with no permit requirement and no payment for the tenant's own build-out unless the lease says so. Read it literally before signing.Read the article →Real EstateJune 25, 20267 min readWhat an Ontario commercial lease relocation clause actually lets your landlord do.A standard-form relocation clause lets the landlord move the business after the tenant has paid for the build-out. Three terms inside the clause decide the actual exposure. All three are negotiable before signing.Read the article →Real EstateJune 12, 20268 min readWhat a personal guarantee actually does on an Ontario commercial lease.The personal guarantee survives the corporation, the assignment, and the renewal. Three structural moves cap the exposure before signing.Read the article →Real EstateJune 6, 20269 min readFive clauses to read before signing a commercial lease in Ontario.Personal guarantee, renewal, demolition, relocation, default. Each clause carries a hidden lever the standard lease form gives to the landlord.Read the article →

Checklists

Downloadable review tools.

Each checklist turns the week's issue into a practical review tool: standard wording, negotiated alternative, sample clause language, walk-away math, and the questions to ask before signing.

The relocation clause your landlord delivers is not the one you should sign.An eight-page negotiation tool for Ontario business owners reviewing a commercial lease. Three negotiable terms, sample clause language for each, walk-away math, and five questions to ask before you sign.The renewal clause decides who controls the rent at the end of the first term.An eight-page negotiation tool for Ontario business owners reviewing a commercial lease renewal. Three negotiable terms, sample clause language for each, walk-away math, and five questions to ask before you give notice.Fifty-fifty ownership feels fair until the first real disagreement.An eight-page tool for Ontario co-founders deciding how decisions get made in a closely-held corporation. Three negotiable terms, sample clause language for each, deadlock math, and five questions to ask before you sign.Founder shares are issued on day one. They should not vest on day one.An eight-page tool for Ontario co-founders deciding how founder shares vest, when they accelerate, and what happens if a co-founder leaves in Year One. Three negotiable terms, sample clause language, walk-away math, and five questions.A power of attorney that names one person and stops is a single point of failure.An eight-page review tool for anyone checking whether an existing power of attorney for property still works. Three review points, sample clause language for each, gap-cost math, and five questions to ask before an institution tests the document.Most Ontario founders skip the same three clauses in a shareholder agreement.An eight-page negotiation tool for Ontario founders deciding how an exit gets priced, how a deadlock gets broken, and what a buy-sell clause actually forces. Three negotiable clauses, sample clause language for each, dispute-cost math, and five questions to ask before you sign.Selling a business from leased premises leaves one closing question.An eight-page preparation tool for assembling the lease record, consent questions, guarantees, costs, deadlines, and closing evidence before a business sale becomes unconditional.

Tools

Free decision tools.

Small business legal readiness, real estate closing clarity (with the Ontario Land Transfer Tax calculator), and estate structure. Enter your situation, read the result on the page, and send it to Damaris if something needs review.

Small Business Legal Readiness ScoreA readiness screen for owners deciding whether the legal foundation can support the next hire, contract, lease, partner change, or financing request.Closing Clarity MapA real estate decision map for price, title, deadlines, financing conditions, closing funds, and documents that need to be settled before closing.Estate Structure CheckA succession planning prompt for families and owners who need to understand which assets, people, and documents must be coordinated.

Guides

All nine guides.

One guide per decision area: incorporation and shareholders' agreements, commercial leases and closings, wills and succession, corporate records, and personal exposure. Each guide collects the articles written underneath it.

Corporate decisionsThe decision behind incorporation, one owner or two, one share class or more, holding company or not, is what shapes the company. DRG Law writes that decision before the form is filed.Real estate decisionsThe business move behind the property close, the use, the exit horizon, the financing structure, sets the closing approach. DRG Law writes the move before the conditions waive.Succession decisionsThe succession question, who controls the company shares, who runs the business, how the family arrangements lock in, sits behind the will, not inside it. DRG Law writes that question first.Read before signingEvery commercial document carries four to six clauses that change the deal. DRG Law reads those first, in writing, before the owner signs.The DRG brief frameEvery DRG Law file ends in five short lines: the risk in the file, the cost of the work, the dates that matter, the decision the owner has to make, and the next step that follows. The written brief is what the owner reads and acts on.Personal exposureA personal guarantee on a company commitment binds the owner's personal assets to the company's obligation. DRG Law names the exposure before the signature.Same lawyer from first call to closingOne lawyer reads the first message, runs the file, and answers the calls. The lawyer who opens the file is the lawyer who closes it. No handoff to a junior lawyer the owner has not met.Legal clarity in English or PortugueseDRG Law works in English or Portuguese with the same legal substance. The brief is the same shape in both languages, written by the lawyer who reads in both.Corporate records before audit, sale, or lenderAn Ontario corporation's minute book, share register, and annual filings become visible at the moment they cause a problem. DRG Law keeps the records current before the third party asks.

Send your question

Not sure which article applies?

Send the question before you sign, waive a condition, or commit. Damaris reads every intake personally and writes back in English or Portuguese.

Send the questionCall 647-584-0998