Tim H.R. Brown, Incorporated Partner

Tim is an employee of T.H.R. Brown Law Corp., a corporate partner at Richards Buell Sutton LLP.  Prior to joining the firm in 1992, he was a litigation assistant with British Columbia's Attorney General from September 1991 until February 1992.  Tim's preferred areas of practice are Wealth Preservation, Estate Planning, Corporate law and generally practical small business advice.  He is developing an increasing skill set in assisting Canadians with US based estate planning and Americans with their Canadian based estate planning.  Tim, while not an agent, also has a special skill set with life insurance based planning.

Tim is well-regarded by his co-workers, his clients and their other service providers alike for his exceptional skill set and creative thinking. "People come to lawyers to get things done because they need help. I like getting things done. Being creative without being aggressive is key.

Almost everything I do is subject to a cost benefit analysis for my clients, with a focus on getting a bang-for-their-buck. If they save $150,000 in taxes because they invested in $5,000 worth of estate planning it's worth it. If they're going to spend $10,000 just to save $15,000 I may well tell them not to do it."

Representative Client Work

Income Allocation Planning and Estate Planning Advice

• team based approach to estate planning advice (works closely with          accountants, insurance agents, investment advisors and other professionals)
• design, negotiate and implement corporate succession planning, dealing with multi-family issues, complex corporate and trust structures, and reasonable family expectations
• design and implement effective solutions for US-Canada cross border estate planning (often in conjunction with US based advisors)
• design and implement plans for income splitting, creditor protection, avoidance of estate litigation, and estate planning goals
• draft wills, insurance trusts, and other testamentary type instruments for simple and complicated estate plans
• design specialized plans to avoid or minimize estate taxes and costs such as probate fees and to avoid the need to apply for probate work with accountants and financial / insurance planners in a team approach

Tim represents primarily owner-operated / owner-managed private businesses based or carrying on business in British Columbia on the following issues:

• incorporation, share ownership, shareholders agreements, management agreement
• basic tax law issues - planning and dealing with the Canada Revenue Agency
• contracts, business purchase and sale negotiations
• employment and independent contractor issues including tax concerns
• negotiation to resolve disputes before litigation
• financing / lending issues especially between related parties

Professional Affiliations

• Member, Law Society of British Columbia
• Member, Canadian Bar Association (BC) Subsections - Tax, Business, and Wills & Estates
• Member, Vancouver Estate Planning Council
• Member, Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP)

Community

• Tim is the current President of Highlands Out of School Care Society. He has also taught basic computer science and data processing at BCIT during high school holidays. 

Background

Tim was born and raised in North Vancouver, where he currently resides with his family near Edgemont Village.  He looks forward to summer months when he can be seen driving his dream car - a red 1972 MGB convertible.  Tim  enjoys working out in a gym (under duress), skiing the local mountains, and soccer, both indoor and outdoor.  Further indoor activites include online video gaming with his son and scotch tasting, a newly acquired "hobby".  Traveling is also near and dear to Tim's heart - 40 countries and counting - as he attempts to catch up to his father's 96 countries.  However, some of Tim's exploration has turned into dangerous holidays - he was in Moscow during the aborted August 1991 coup d'etat.

Events