LINMAC LLP is a corporate-commercial law firm with extensive experience advising clients in the funeral, cemeteries and cremation profession. Our lawyers have acted for funeral homes, cemeteries, crematoria and their shareholders, directors, officers and employees in a wide range of matters, including:
-
Acquiring existing funeral homes, cemeteries and crematoria
-
Establishing new funeral homes, cemeteries and crematoria
-
Navigating regulatory approval processes including businesses and individual licencing, and environmental approvals for crematoria
-
Assisting investors in structuring their affairs to align with both practical goals and regulatory requirements, including the preparation of partnership or shareholder agreements and related tax structuring
-
Providing day-to-day legal advice on operational matters including employment law, workplace health and safety laws, corporate/commercial contracts, advertising, consumer complaints and responding to matters raised by the Bereavement Authority of Ontario
-
Advising on matters related to the Funeral, Burial and Cremation Services Act, 2002 and related regulations including licensing issues and performance standards
-
Assisting in the proper conduct of partnership or shareholder meetings when necessary
-
Maintaining partnership or corporate records
With over 40 years of experience in the funeral industry, our lawyers have handled a wide range of matters. Below is a selection of our representative work:
-
Acting for a private equity firm in raising $2.5 million in the exempt market, including preparation of all necessary subscriptions and an extensive shareholders agreement. The private equity firm's main assets are in the "death care" industry.
-
Acting for a Canadian public company in carrying out its "roll-up strategy". This included acquisitions of a series of funeral homes, cemeteries or crematoria in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, as well as oversight of acquisitions of multiple funeral homes, cemeteries and crematoria in multiple jurisdictions in the USA including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Kentucky, Texas, North Carolina, New Mexico among others. The purchase prices ranged from $2.5 million for a single funeral home in Ontario to $50 million (US) for a group of cemeteries and crematoria in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Total value in excess of $100 million.
-
Acting for the purchaser in a $4.8 million acquisition of all the shares of a funeral home in south central Ontario, including, conducting the standard due diligence and obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals.
-
Acting for a group of funeral directors in the acquisition of a cemetery and crematorium in central Ontario, including all regulatory approvals and a shareholders' agreement.
-
Acting for a group of funeral directors in south-eastern Ontario in connection with the following:
-
the acquisition of an existing crematorium in an existing cemetery, including negotiating a long-term ground lease and all regulatory approvals;
-
the establishment of a new cemetery and construction of a new crematorium, including all regulatory and environmental approvals; and
-
preparation of a shareholders' agreement governing both sites among all investors.
-
Acting for a group of funeral directors in southern Ontario in establishing a new crematorium in an existing cemetery, including a long-term ground lease, all regulatory and environmental approvals, and a shareholders' agreement among all investors.
-
Acting for a funeral director in eastern Ontario in establishing a crematorium in an existing cemetery including all regulatory and environmental approvals.
-
Acting for a group of funeral directors in south-western Ontario in establishing a new crematorium on a non-cemetery site, including all regulatory and environmental approvals, and a shareholders' agreement among all investors.
