Areas
of Specialization
a) Real
Estate and Development Law
b) Foreign Investment
c) Tax Law
d) Corporate Law
e) Immigration Law
f) Federal Zone Concessions
g) Agrarian Law
h) Trusts (Fideicomisos)
i) Litigation
j) Contracts and Negotiations
k) Environmental Law
l) Acquisition of Mexican Citizenship and reacquisition
of Mexican Citizenship
a)
Real estate and development law .-
The manner in which the rights to real property in Mexico are
acquired and developed is very different from what most people
living in common law countries are used to. One of the principal
areas of focus of our firm is assisting foreigners in securing
and developing real property in Mexico. We have extensive experience
in setting up trusts (fideicomisos) and Mexican corporations
to acquire rights to real property all over Mexico.
Whether
buying a second home, building a hotel, investing in development
or renting agricultural land to grow raspberries, we have the
necessary experience to assist you in not only understanding
and securing your investment, but also to assist you in taking
advantage of the legal and tax benefits set up for investors.
(see Wall Street Journal
article, January 6, 2000).
Our firm has extensive experience in dealing not
only with private property transactions but also with agrarian
property and ejido matters.
Prior to 1992, agrarian land (including ejido
land) could not be privatized or sold to non-members of the
agrarian community. Reforms made to the Mexican Constitution
in 1992 now allow agrarian communities to acquire private property
titles to the lands they hold and transfer the rights to this
land to third parties, including foreigners, via foreign owned
Mexican corporations and trusts.
Since agrarian communities hold the majority of
Mexican real estate, it is easy to understand what this has
meant for the Mexican real estate market. Thousands of miles
of coast line and hundreds of thousands of acres of land that
prior to 1992 had restrictions on them regarding foreign investment,
now have been opened up to the foreign investors. The process
of converting agrarian land (including ejido land) to private
property is quite complex. The laws governing agrarian land
are also very different than those that govern private property.
We can assist you in privatization matters, relationships with
ejidos, dispute resolution and in general with understanding
the risks and benefits of dealing with this type of land.
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b)
Foreign Investment - In 1994 Mexico
reformed its Foreign Investment Law, significantly opening up
the areas in which foreign investment could participate in Mexico.
Prior to 1994 the general rule was that foreign investors were
limited to participating in only up to a 49% interest in Mexican
corporations, however the reforms did away with that restriction
and now the general rule is that foreign investors can participate
in Mexican corporations up to 100%. This is the general rule
however there are still several areas where foreigner investment
is limited or restricted.
Understanding
the restrictions that exist on foreign investment is paramount
in deciding whether or not to open up your business in Mexico.
Unfortunately we have seen many investors start operations in
Mexico without even knowing if the activity they are involved
in is restricted or not. Obviously this is devastating for a
business when they find out that what they are doing is prohibited.
Our firm has experience in not only dealing with
the legal requirements set out by the foreign investment laws
but we also provide ongoing consulting and ancillary services
to our clients who are doing business in Mexico. Our staff includes
some of the very few foreigners licensed to practice law in
Mexico. We understand first-hand what it is to be a foreigner
doing business in Mexico.
Understanding the risks that a new market presents
is necessary for any business to survive.
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c)
Tax law - Tax planning in a necessity for both the
homeowner and the multinational corporation. In any investment
the tax consequences must be weighed. Our staff includes both
attorneys and accountants who can provide you with the tax planning
you need. We can also assist you in coordinating your tax structure
for international purposes. (see TaxMeLess.com
)
Besides tax planning, our firm can assist you
in resolving contingencies that arise from government audits.
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d)
Corporate law .- We offer of full
range of corporate law services including setting up corporations,
partnerships, non profit and charitable organizations, mergers,
spin-offs, registration of minutes and minutes book maintenance,
annual and extraordinary meetings, board meetings and minutes,
granting of powers of attorney, government filings and permits,
as well as any other administrative assistance needed to maintain
a Mexican corporation in good standing.
Besides
general maintenance of corporations, we can provide you with
assistance and legal counsel regarding corporate law, shareholders´
rights and obligations, administrator obligations and liabilities
and in general provide general counsel to either the individual
shareholder, administrator, board of directors or the corporation
regarding corporate law matters.
If
you are not sure of the standing of your corporation with the
government, we can run the necessary searches or conduct the
necessary studies to determine any pending business the corporation
has to do to be in good standing as well as assist you to rectify
any late or absent permits or authorizations.
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e)
Immigration Law.- If you are going to live and work in Mexico you need to have the necessary immigration documentation. Mexico offers several types of working and non-working visas. Before you choose a visa you should know what the pros and cons are of each type. We can assist you with selecting and acquiring the type of visa that best fits your needs. The type of visa you have can affect both the car you drive and the amount of taxes you pay. Getting the right type of visa the first time will save you a considerable amount of time and could also save you a considerable amount of money.
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f)
Federal zone concessions. -If you
have land that borders on a federal zone (beaches, rivers, lakes,
creeks, highways or lagoon) you need to be aware of your rights
and obligations to use that land. You should also be aware of
the rights of third parties to use and enjoy that land.
Mexico's federal government will grant concession
rights to exclusively use and enjoy certain types of federal
zone properties. Acquiring the concession to use the federal
land that borders your property is an easy way to increase the
value of your land and reduce the risk of someone else coming
along and using this land.
Over the last few years the federal government
has made several changes in the procedures to acquire federal
zone concessions. These changes have made it easier for both
individuals and corporations to acquire these concessions. While
the procedure can still take several years, the costs associated
with it have been drastically reduced.
Our firm provides a full range of federal zone
services including acquiring of concessions, permits, transfers
of concessions, dispute resolution and concessions administration.
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g)
Agrarian Law .- We have extensive
experience in dealing with Agrarian land matters. Any foreigner
investing in Agrarian land, be it an ejido, an agrarian community
or any other type of agrarian community set up in accordance
with the agrarian law, must understand that they are not dealing
with private property but with agrarian property whose law and
customs are very distinct. (see Can
I buy "Ejido" land?)
Since the 1992
modifications to Mexico's constitution, agrarian communities
(including ejidos) can now elect to take their properties out
of the agrarian community and convert them to private property.
Once this is done these properties can be sold to non-members
of the agrarian community, including foreigners. The entire
procedure to convert agrarian property to private property is
quite complex and usually takes from one to three years to complete,
however most agrarian communities have already begun the process.
We can assist you in determining if the land you want to acquire
is in the process of acquiring private title as well as getting
the private title into your name. We can also assist you in
dealing with the agrarian community and government offices that
are in charge of reviewing and verifying this procedure.
If problems do arise,
we can assist you in negotiating or litigating agrarian matters.
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h)
Trusts (fideicomisos).- Trusts in
Mexico are principally used by foreigners to acquire rights
to property in Mexico's restricted zone (50 kilometers from
beach and 100 kilometers from borders) for residential use.
Our firm has extensive experience in setting up and modifying
trusts in a manner that best suits the foreign investors´
needs. We can also assist you in setting up master trusts and
in negotiation with the banks that serve as trustees. (see Trust
Fees).
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i)
Litigation, dispute resolution, arbitration,
mitigation and mediation - Avoiding litigation and unnecessary
legal costs is important to everyone. However there are times
when legal advisors are required to resolve a dispute. In these
situations we can assist you in understanding the dispute resolution
procedure in Mexico as well as mitigate the risks involved with
any type of dispute resolution procedure.
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j)
Contracts and negotiations - When
investing in a foreign country it is very important that you
understand: 1) What type of agreement you are signing, and 2)
What your rights and obligations are under the terms of the
agreement. Many times foreigners will sign agreements in Spanish
without fully understanding the implications of what they are
signing. When this happens, the outcome of the agreements is
often not favorable for the investor. We recommend that any
time you sign an agreement in a foreign country you understand
the intent of the agreement as well as the legal ramifications
of the entire agreement.
We
have assisted foreigners and Mexican nationals all over Mexico
in negotiating and signing the types of agreements that best
fit the intent of the parties. Some of the types of agreements
we have worked on include property sales agreements, rental
agreements, leasing agreements, mortgages, lines of credit,
bonds, construction agreements, government contracts, labor
agreements, stock agreements, corporate merger agreements, conciliation
agreements, joint ventures, stock options and many others.
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k)
Environmental law - In today's world
environmental law affects just about every type of investment.
Making sure your investment complies with these laws is important
in order to avoid fines and delays. We can assist you in determining
how the environmental laws of Mexico will affect your business
and assist you in acquiring the necessary permits to carry out
your operations.
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l) Acquisition of Mexican Citizenship
and reacquisition of Mexican Citizenship. Foreigners can
now acquire Mexican citizenship and Mexicans who have renounced
their Mexican citizenship can know reacquire citizenship in
Mexico. We can consult and assist you in these matters, as well
as process the necessary paperwork. |
