How We Help

Choosing the ideal business or corporate vehicle to run your enterprise depends on several variables. We help you decide which one is best suited to your immediate needs and resources, while balancing them against your long-term goals.

Below is a snapshot of business and corporate structures available in Barbados, for which we provide legal advice and support:

• Registered Business Name - This is the trading name under which the business operates, but is registered with Business Barbados and assigned a Registration number. In the event an individual is running a business under a name that is not their personal name, they are required to register that name with Business Barbados. A registered business name does not have separate legal personality from the individual who registered the business name so that all assets or liabilities of the business are in the name of the individual. This structure has its benefits for minimal complexity in formalisation, low upfront cost, and few statutory requirements post-registration. Its potential risk arises in personal liability to its owner(s) and continuity following the death of the owner(s). We help clients rate the level of risk based on the nature of products and services being offered for sale. 

• A Company - A company is an entity that has separate, legal personality from its shareholder(s), as well as its incorporator(s) and director(s). It is treated for all intents and purposes as a person in that it can own real and personal property, enter into contracts, and sue and be sued in its own name. One of its major attractions for business owners is that, as a general rule, a company structure safeguards the assets of shareholders from being claimed by creditors if the company were to become bankrupt, and a shareholder is not liable for the company's debt, except in certain scenarios. There is more complexity and upfront costs in the formation of a company, in contrast with a registered business name. In addition, a company after incorporation has several statutory obligations to different agencies, such as Business Barbados, the Barbados Revenue Authority, and the National Insurance and Social Security Service. A company whose gross revenue, as shown in its most recent financial statements, exceeds BBD1 Million, or makes 100 per cent of its revenue in foreign exchange, has additional statutory obligations to the International Business Unit (IBU) under the Ministry of International Business & Industry of Barbados. We help with the incorporation of companies and provide legal guidance afterwards to avoid penalties and being struck off the companies' register.

• A Society With Restricted Liability - A Society With Restricted Liability (SRL), like a company, enjoys separate legal personality and shares several identical features to a company in its formation and statutory obligations. However, different terminology is used in relation to a SRL. For example, its directors are referred to as "managers," its shareholders are called "members," its shares are labelled as "quotas," and a SRL is organised rather than incorporated. Several SRLs in Barbados were formerly international SRLs (i.e., offshore entities) and transitioned by law to domestic SRLs. Such SRLs, like with certain companies, whose gross revenue exceeds BBD1 Million and they make 100 per cent of their revenue in foreign exchange, have additional statutory obligations to the IBU. We help in the organisation of SRLs and post-organisation requirements to ensure that SRLs comply with their statutory obligations and avoid penalties.

• An External Company - An external company is an incorporated or unincorporated body formed under the laws of a country other than Barbados. If an external company is desirous of carrying out an undertaking in Barbados (i.e., conducting business in Barbados, including holding title to any land or maintaining an office), it must be registered with Business Barbados. The laws governing a domestic company incorporated in Barbados also apply to an external company. We help in the registration of external companies and in complying with their statutory obligations thereafter.

People are central to every organisation, and bring the most value and complexity to running a successful enterprise. This value and complexity must be acknowledged and reflected in employment contracts, disciplinary rules and procedures, and borne out in the business's core values and its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) framework. We provide our clients with the resources to document and execute this.

Our services span the preparation of employment contracts, disciplinary rules and procedures, and policies governing sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace, as well as employment litigation in the field of unfair dismissal and discrimination at work.

We help clients comply with employment and labour laws and, in turn, mitigate the reputational and statutory risk of failing to do so.

Planning for death and managing the affairs of a loved one can be complex and emotionally challenging while still experiencing the throes of grief. We support clients along both journeys:

• We help clients in the preparation of their last Will as well as related matters, for example, the selection of executors and trustees, and provide practical steps following the lodging of the Will at the Registration Department;
• We guide executors in the probate of the Will and applying for Letters Testamentary; and
• In cases where an individual has died intestate, we advise clients on eligible beneficiaries under Barbados' succession laws and assist with the Application for Letters of Administration. 

In addition, we support clients after the issuance of the relevant Grant in transferring ownership of any property to the relevant beneficiaries named in a Will, or as prescribed under Barbados’ succession laws in the event a deceased person died intestate.

We take any potentially complex matter and simplify it as much as possible so that clients’ wishes are honoured in their last Will, and any application for probate or administration proceeds smoothly.