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LLCs, CORPORATIONS AND OTHER MEANS OF PROTECTION
WHAT MANY BUSINESS OWNERS DON'T KNOW!*
PERSONAL LIABILITY. As a business owner, you may be exposed to personal liability for activities related to your business. As such, your personal assets may also be exposed to the risk of attachment, seizure and sale. To reduce the risk of personal liability, consider creating a separate legal entity for your business and file a Declaration of Homestead for your primary residence.
CHOICE OF ENTITY. There are several ways you may create a separate legal entity, including, establishing a Corporation or a Limited Liability Company [LLC]. Factors involved in deciding which business formation is right for you, include, the following: is there foreign or US ownership of the business; how many owners of the business; is the business involved in international or domestic transactions; and other related issues.
SEPARATE IDENTITY. In giving birth to new Corporation or an LLC, you are, in the legal sense, giving birth to a "Person" with its own identity, its own tax identification number, and its own liability. One of the keys to reducing the risks of third parties "piercing the corporate veil," is to treat the new entity as a separate legal Person. For example, open a new bank account for the new entity and all funds should be maintained separately, and avoid commingling business funds with the owners' funds.
Also, purchase orders, letterhead, receipts, labels, advertisements, signage, contracts, etc., should reflect in a conspicous manner (not as the trademark/brand necessarily) the full legal name of the entity, including the suffix ("Inc.", "Corp.", "LLC", etc.), for example on the bottom of each the appropriate materials. In addition, as an Officer or Director of the Corporation or a Manager of the LLC, each contract you sign on behalf the business should be signed with your title describing the capacity under which you are signing, for example, "Sarah Smith, as President of Smith Wholesalers, Inc." Any contract signed without such language may be deemed to have been entered into by you personally and any liability arising out of such a contact may be outside the scope of corporate or LLC protection.
There is more paper work associated with corporate compliance than LLC compliance, in that there are additional formalities required in maintaining an "Active Corporation." For example, a corporation must file the Articles of Organization, draft By-Laws, conduct annual Board of Directors meetings, keep records of meetings, file Annual Reports (different from financial Annual Reports) with the Secretary of State, etc. One basic rule to remember is that, in order to have the protection of a Corporation you must "act" like a Corporation. Simply filing the Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State and paying the filing fee is not enough to protect you. To establish a Corporation in Massachusetts, the filing fee for the Articles of Organization is Two Hundred Seventy-Five Dollars ($275.00). To maintain a Corporation in Massachusetts, the Annual Report filing fee is approximately One Hundred Twenty-five Dollars ($125.00) each year.
With regard to an LLC, there are less formalities required. To establish an LLC in Massachusetts, the filing fee for a Certificate of Organization is Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). To maintain an LLC in Massachusetts, you must file an annual report each year and the filing fee is Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) each year.
DECLARATION OF HOMESTEAD. Other means of protecting your personal assets include, filing a Declaration of Homestead (if recognized in your State). As an example, in Massachusetts, a proper filing of a Declaration of Homestead at the appropriate Registry of Deeds, protects the equity in the primary residence of the owner/declarant from certain creditors, up to Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) per family until the owner/declarant reaches the age of 62 and up to Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) for each owner/declarant 62 years of age or older.
Take steps to protect yourself and the assets you have worked hard to acquire. Create a separate legal entity and file a Declaration of Homestead (if applicable) today.
Request a Free Consultation today, followed by a Free Written Analysis by Michelle Grenier, including a summary of your business goals, corresponding legal issues, suggestions, recommendations, costs involved, etc.
* This article is provided for informational use only. This article is not intended to and is not legal advice. Consult an attorney with regard to the specific details of your situation. Filing fees and statutory homestead protection may change.