Panelists: Tako Van Popta & Elyssa LockhartRegister Now
Tako Van Popta
Tako assists business owners purchasing new businesses, reorganizing existing businesses or selling their businesses either to outside purchasers or as part of a well-thought-out succession plan.
He also gives practical legal advice to business owners on questions of law arising in commercial settings.
Working with land owners and developers, Tako assists with drafting joint venture agreements, partnership agreements, cost sharing agreements, and debt or equity financing agreements. Further into the project, he will assist land developers in their dealings with City Hall and advise on preparation of disclosure statements as required under the Real Estate Developments Marketing Act.
Elyssa Lockhart, McQuarrie Hunter LLP
Elyssa Lockhart is a Partner at McQuarrie Hunter LLP, practicing in the Corporate and Wealth Preservation departments and seeing clients in both our Surrey office as well as her own office in Mission.
Called to the British Columbia Bar in February of 2001, Elyssa completed her articles and then practiced with a well-respected mid-sized firm in downtown Vancouver. In 2005 she took over the management of her father’s law practice in the Fraser Valley. Over the following decade, Elyssa established herself as both a well-respected practitioner in her field and as a community leader.
In her Corporate practice, Elyssa primarily assists Owner/Operators with structure and governance issues associated with incorporation, sale and acquisition of corporate assets and of corporations themselves, succession planning and transition of ownership, as well as with windup and dissolution. Elyssa is well-versed in corporate reorganizations and works closely with clients’ accountants and other advisors in estate freeze and other transactions designed to minimize undesirable tax consequences while maximizing tax beneficial outcomes.
Elyssa also chooses to adopt a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach in her estate planning and estate administration practice, regularly consulting with financial planners, accountants, business managers and other professionals as necessary to ensure clients’ wishes are able to be carried out following their passing. Elyssa’s practice includes family enterprise clients involved in farming, manufacturing and real estate development, among other industries. She has significant experience in drafting estate plans for blended families and for families wishing to protect the interests of disabled beneficiaries. She advises estate representatives as well as beneficiaries during the Probate application process and provides opinions on the interpretation of wills, trusts and other estate planning documents.