Your Dental Practice May Be Put On Hold After Your Death or Disability, But Your Lease Obligations May Not
Jordan Uditsky • March 8, 2021
Many smaller dental practices are inseparable from the dentists themselves. The practice may be (and should be) a separate legal entity with its own license, but if the primary dentist ceases to practice, the practice will cease to be. This situation is fine if it is part of a planned and thoughtful transition or retirement. But it can be a catastrophe if the dentist becomes disabled or passes away unexpectedly.
Because even though the practice comes to a grinding halt, any obligations the dentist and practice have under a commercial lease will continue – unless the dentist prepared for such a possibility when negotiating the lease.
Standard Leases Don’t Care About Your Death or Disability
Most standard commercial leases, including those for professional practices, do not release the lessee from their rent or other ongoing obligations if they temporarily or permanently shut their doors due to the primary revenue generator's death or disability. This means that while a dentist is dealing with a life-changing medical crisis, or their family is mourning their loss, they will also face a landlord seeking its rent money for the remainder of the lease term.
The landlord won’t only look to the practice entity for its money. If the dentist signed a personal guarantee for the lease, the lessor could file a claim against the dentist’s estate seeking any remaining rental payments. This is money that the landlord is effectively taking out of the pockets of the dentist’s heirs.
Death and Disability Clauses
That is why many dentists request the inclusion of a death and disability clause when negotiating the terms of their lease. Such a provision allows the practice to be released from its obligations if the primary practitioner passes away or becomes disabled, even if there are months or years remaining on the lease term.
While commercial landlords are generally averse to such clauses, they are not uncommon in leases with professional service providers like dentists, who are the sole reason the practice is able to generate revenue and pay rent.
Often, a negotiated death or disability clause will still include a penalty of several months rent in the event the clause is triggered and the dentist or their estate elects to terminate the lease. This is usually preferable to the alternative if there is a long term left on the lease. Sometimes, the provision may allow a disabled dentist or the dentist’s estate to sell the practice and assign the lease agreement to the purchaser.
What If The Landlord Won’t Budge?
No matter how reasonable the request for a death and disability clause may be, there will always be landlords who won’t entertain the concept. This can be the case in lease arrangements where that landlord provides a significant tenant improvement allowance or performs costly and unique improvements to the leased space, a frequent occurrence in dental leases.
In such circumstances, the dentist should consider obtaining a “key person” or “key man” life insurance policy. The tenant would be the beneficiary under the policy and could use the proceeds to satisfy any outstanding obligations under the lease. Alternatively, the landlord may demand that the dentist add the landlord as an additional insured under the dentist’s death or disability insurance policy in an effort to mitigate its losses.
It is never fun to think about your own death or disability, whether you are engaged in estate planning or negotiating a lease for your dental practice. But in both cases, doing so can spare yourself, your family, and your practice from unnecessary and costly burdens during an already difficult time. Always consult with an experienced dental practice attorney before negotiating or entering into any lease for your practice.
We Focus on You So You Can Focus on Your Patients
At Grogan Hesse & Uditsky, P.C., we focus a substantial part of our practice on providing exceptional legal services for dentists and dental practices, as well as orthodontists, periodontists, endodontists, pediatric dentists, and oral surgeons. We bring unique insights and deep commitment to protecting the interests of dental professionals and their practices and welcome the opportunity to work with you.
Please call us at (630) 833-5533 or contact us
online to arrange for your free initial consultation.
Jordan Uditsky, an accomplished businessman and seasoned attorney, combines his experience as a legal counselor and successful entrepreneur to advise dentists and other business owners in the Chicago area. Jordan grew up in a dental family, with his father, grandfather, and sister each owning their own dental practices. This blend of legal, business, and personal experience provides Jordan with unique insight into his clients’ needs, concerns, and goals.
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We focus a substantial part of our practice on providing exceptional legal services for dentists and dental practices, as well as orthodontists, periodontists, endodontists, pediatric dentists, and oral surgeons. We bring unique insights and deep commitment to protecting the interests of dental professionals and their practices and welcome the opportunity to work with you. Jordan Uditsky, an accomplished businessman and seasoned attorney, combines his experience as a legal counselor and successful entrepreneur to advise dentists and other business owners in the Chicago area. Jordan grew up in a dental family, with his father, grandfather, and sister each owning their own dental practices, and this blend of legal, business, and personal experience provides Jordan with unique insight into his clients’ needs, concerns, and goals.
Dental practices that choose to lease rather than purchase and own their business location have several options for setting up shop. While plenty of practices operate out of stand-alone buildings, even more lease space in retail shopping centers, professional buildings, or office complexes. The terms of that lease – from the rent to the term to build-out, termination, or assignment rights – can have an outsized impact on the growth and success of a practice. But one lease provision, in particular, can determine whether your practice faces stiff and unwanted competition from another practice just steps from your office’s front door: the exclusivity (or exclusive use) clause. What Is An Exclusive Use Provision in a Dental Practice Lease? As the name implies, an exclusive use clause in a lease limits the landlord’s ability to lease space in the same complex or building to another tenant engaged in the same type of business. Think about why you would choose a particular location for your practice. Aside from the features of the space itself, it is likely because of favorable characteristics like foot traffic, accessibility, parking, and the lack of other similar practices in the surrounding area. If, after conducting demographic research and spending time and resources selecting the perfect location for your practice, your landlord could wipe out those efforts with the stroke of a pen by leasing space nearby to a competing practice, it could be a devastating blow. Negotiating an Exclusive Use Provision Most commercial leases are initially prepared by the landlord. As such, they are unsurprisingly skewed in favor of the landlord’s interests. It is unlikely that a landlord would voluntarily and preemptively tie their hands by limiting the pool of potential tenants. That is why the burden is usually on the tenant to push for and negotiate an exclusivity provision. When negotiating the terms of your dental practice lease (which you should only do with the help and counsel of an experienced attorney), the goal will be to get your landlord to agree not to rent space to other dental practice tenants. If your landlord refuses to limit their ability to lease space to other dentists generally and you nevertheless want to pursue the desired space, you may be able to be more specific and agree to a provision that restricts the landlord’s ability to lease to a particular competing specialty such as pediatric dentists, orthodontists, periodontists, etc. Protecting Yourself From a Landlord’s Breach of an Exclusivity Clause The contracts most likely to be broken are those with few, if any, consequences for violating their terms. That is why the value of an exclusivity provision is directly related to the price that the landlord will pay for entering into a lease with a competitor despite the clause in your lease. 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Jordan Uditsky, an accomplished businessman and seasoned attorney, combines his experience as a legal counselor and successful entrepreneur to advise dentists and other business owners in the Chicago area. Jordan grew up in a dental family, with his father, grandfather, and sister each owning their own dental practices, and this blend of legal, business, and personal experience provides Jordan with unique insight into his clients’ needs, concerns, and goals.
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On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) was signed into law. One may question whether this sprawling piece of legislation deserves to be called “beautiful,” but it undoubtedly earns the “big” in its name, especially for small businesses like dental practices. That is because it contains several provisions that could have a significant impact on the tax obligations of practices and their owners. Most notably, the OBBBA solidifies significant tax reforms and exemptions that were part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Here are seven aspects of the OBBBA that are of particular interest to dental practices and their owners. 1. Permanent Qualified Business Income (QBI) Deduction The 20 percent small business tax deduction (also known as the section 199a deduction) for sole proprietorships, partnerships, S-corporations, and LLCs, which was scheduled to expire at the end of 2025, is made permanent and extends the amount of income subject to the phase-out rules. Specifically, the income threshold for single taxpayers is expanded by $25,000 and for joint filers by $50,000. The bill also includes a new minimum deduction of $400 for taxpayers with at least $1,000 of qualified business income from one or more actively conducted trades or businesses in which they materially participate. 2. Expanding Section 179 Expensing The bill increases the Small Business Expensing Cap from $1.22 million to $2.5 million. It also brings back and makes permanent “bonus depreciation,” which allows for an immediate write-off of 100 percent (versus 40 percent) of the cost of new qualified property acquired after January 19, 2025, such as equipment, vehicles, and software. 3. Qualified Small Business Stock The OBBBA modifies the Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) provisions contained in Section 1202 of the Internal Revenue Code by increasing the amounts that can be excluded from gross income, raising the size limit for QSBS investments, and shortening the holding period so investors can take advantage of the provision's benefits earlier than before. Specifically: For QSBS issued after OBBBA's July 4, 2025, effective date, the per-taxpayer gain exclusion cap for the sale of QSBS is raised from $10 million to $15 million, with that threshold being adjusted for inflation starting in 2027. The exclusion amount will now be $15 million or 10x the basis in the stock, whichever is greater. The aggregate gross assets a C corporation may have for its stock to qualify as a qualified small business is now $75 million – up from $50 million - for stock issued after July 4, 2025, with the new limit to be adjusted for inflation beginning in 2027. For QSBS acquired after July 4, 2025, the holding period required to qualify for the QSBS gain exclusion drops from five years to three years. After three years, a 50% exclusion is available, increasing to 75% after four years, and reaching 100% exclusion after five years. 4. Enhancing the Employer-provided Childcare Credit Section 45F of the tax code, which is designed to incentivize businesses to invest in childcare, now provides qualifying small businesses (gross receipts of $25 million or less for the preceding five years) with a maximum tax credit of up to $600,000 per year on up to 50 percent of qualified childcare expenses provided to employees. This credit is effective beginning in 2026. 5. Employer-provided Student Loan Repayment Assistance The OBBBA makes the employer-provided student loan repayment benefit permanent, allowing employers to contribute up to $5,250 per year towards employees' student loans, tax-free for both the employer and employee. 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We focus a substantial part of our practice on providing exceptional legal services for dentists and dental practices, as well as orthodontists, periodontists, endodontists, pediatric dentists, and oral surgeons. We bring unique insights and deep commitment to protecting the interests of dental professionals and their practices and welcome the opportunity to work with you. Jordan Uditsky, an accomplished businessman and seasoned attorney, combines his experience as a legal counselor and successful entrepreneur to advise dentists and other business owners in the Chicago area. Jordan grew up in a dental family, with his father, grandfather, and sister each owning their own dental practices, and this blend of legal, business, and personal experience provides Jordan with unique insight into his clients’ needs, concerns, and goals.
Dental practices that choose to lease rather than purchase and own their business location have several options for setting up shop. While plenty of practices operate out of stand-alone buildings, even more lease space in retail shopping centers, professional buildings, or office complexes. The terms of that lease – from the rent to the term to build-out, termination, or assignment rights – can have an outsized impact on the growth and success of a practice. But one lease provision, in particular, can determine whether your practice faces stiff and unwanted competition from another practice just steps from your office’s front door: the exclusivity (or exclusive use) clause. What Is An Exclusive Use Provision in a Dental Practice Lease? As the name implies, an exclusive use clause in a lease limits the landlord’s ability to lease space in the same complex or building to another tenant engaged in the same type of business. Think about why you would choose a particular location for your practice. Aside from the features of the space itself, it is likely because of favorable characteristics like foot traffic, accessibility, parking, and the lack of other similar practices in the surrounding area. If, after conducting demographic research and spending time and resources selecting the perfect location for your practice, your landlord could wipe out those efforts with the stroke of a pen by leasing space nearby to a competing practice, it could be a devastating blow. Negotiating an Exclusive Use Provision Most commercial leases are initially prepared by the landlord. As such, they are unsurprisingly skewed in favor of the landlord’s interests. It is unlikely that a landlord would voluntarily and preemptively tie their hands by limiting the pool of potential tenants. That is why the burden is usually on the tenant to push for and negotiate an exclusivity provision. When negotiating the terms of your dental practice lease (which you should only do with the help and counsel of an experienced attorney), the goal will be to get your landlord to agree not to rent space to other dental practice tenants. If your landlord refuses to limit their ability to lease space to other dentists generally and you nevertheless want to pursue the desired space, you may be able to be more specific and agree to a provision that restricts the landlord’s ability to lease to a particular competing specialty such as pediatric dentists, orthodontists, periodontists, etc. Protecting Yourself From a Landlord’s Breach of an Exclusivity Clause The contracts most likely to be broken are those with few, if any, consequences for violating their terms. That is why the value of an exclusivity provision is directly related to the price that the landlord will pay for entering into a lease with a competitor despite the clause in your lease. Given the potentially catastrophic impact of having a neighbor in the same building siphoning off your patients and diluting your hard-earned goodwill, that price should be significant. Several different penalties can serve to protect your practice from a breach of an exclusivity provision: Rent Abatement. One of the most straightforward and commonly used remedies is rent abatement. If the landlord allows a competing business to open in violation of the exclusive use clause, an abatement penalty can entitle you to a full or partial reduction in base rent or other charges. This abatement typically remains in effect until the violation is cured or the competing tenant leaves. The lease should specify the amount of rent to be abated (e.g., 50% of base rent) and whether the abatement applies to other charges such as common area maintenance fees or percentage rent. Termination Right. A strong lease will give the tenant the option to terminate the lease entirely if the landlord fails to cure the violation within a specified period after notice. This is a significant penalty that underscores the seriousness of the exclusive use protection. Liquidated Damages. Liquidated damages provide a pre-agreed amount that the landlord must pay if it breaches the exclusive use clause. This can be calculated based on the tenant’s projected loss in revenue, estimated lost profits, or some other measurable metric tied to the tenant’s business performance. Injunctive Relief. Ideally, the lease should give you the right to seek injunctive relief from a court to stop the violation of the exclusive use provision, such as requiring the landlord to terminate the lease or evict the competing tenant. Getting a landlord to agree to a strong exclusivity provision with equally strong penalties for breaches of it requires deft and persuasive negotiating skills, and is yet another reason why dental practice owners should never enter into or negotiate a lease without the assistance of experienced counsel. If you are considering a lease for your practice, please contact Grogan Hesse & Uditsky today at (630) 833-5533 or contact us online to arrange for your free initial consultation. We focus a substantial part of our practice on providing exceptional legal services for dentists and dental practices, as well as orthodontists, periodontists, endodontists, pediatric dentists, and oral surgeons. We bring unique insights and deep commitment to protecting the interests of dental professionals and their practices and welcome the opportunity to work with you. Jordan Uditsky, an accomplished businessman and seasoned attorney, combines his experience as a legal counselor and successful entrepreneur to advise dentists and other business owners in the Chicago area. Jordan grew up in a dental family, with his father, grandfather, and sister each owning their own dental practices, and this blend of legal, business, and personal experience provides Jordan with unique insight into his clients’ needs, concerns, and goals.
Recent amendments to the Illinois Dental Practice Act (the “Act”), which Gov. JB Pritzker is expected to soon sign into law, will make it easier for newly minted dental professionals to begin practicing while their license applications are pending. The amendments, which would take effect on January 1, 2026, establish the following criteria under which license-pending dentists and dental hygienists can practice under the delegation of a licensed general dentist: The Applicant has completed and passed the IDFPR-approved licensure exam and presented their employer with an official written notification indicating such; The Applicant has completed and submitted the application for licensure; and The Applicant has submitted the required licensure fee. Once obtained, authorization for dentists and dental hygienists to practice under these provisions can be terminated upon the occurrence of any of the following: The Applicant receives their full-practice license; IDFPR provides notification that the Applicant’s application has been denied; IDFPR requests that the Applicant stop practicing as a license-pending dentist/dental hygienist until the Department makes an official decision to grant or deny a license to practice; or Six months have passed since the official date of the Applicant’s passage of the licensure exam (i.e., the date on the formal written notification of such from the Department). IDFPR has yet to post anything on its website regarding these amendments, but we will provide an update if and when it does. If you have any questions about these new provisions regarding the employment of license-pending dentists and hygienists, please contact Grogan Hesse & Uditsky today at (630) 833-5533 or contact us online to arrange for your free initial consultation. We focus a substantial part of our practice on providing exceptional legal services for dentists and dental practices, as well as orthodontists, periodontists, endodontists, pediatric dentists, and oral surgeons. We bring unique insights and deep commitment to protecting the interests of dental professionals and their practices and welcome the opportunity to work with you. Jordan Uditsky, an accomplished businessman and seasoned attorney, combines his experience as a legal counselor and successful entrepreneur to advise dentists and other business owners in the Chicago area. Jordan grew up in a dental family, with his father, grandfather, and sister each owning their own dental practices, and this blend of legal, business, and personal experience provides Jordan with unique insight into his clients’ needs, concerns, and goals.
