Corporation, Partnership & Limited Liability Company Organization and Planning
Corporation, Partnership & Limited Liability Company Organization and Planning
At Dalton & Herlehy, we help new entrepreneurs and long-established businesses alike. Counseling a new business owner begins with making sure the business is established under the business structure best suited for the owner’s situation, whereas the long-established business owner seeks guidance in making sure his business operates legally and profitably.
A business owner has many choices as to the form of business he or she operates. Among them are a limited liability company or the more commonly known corporation.
Limited Liability Company (“LLC”)
In years past, the structure of most businesses was in the form of a corporation or a partnership. However, in 1994, a new option became available with the creation of the Limited Liability Company Act. An “LLC” is created much like a corporation. However, rather than the owners being referred to as “stockholders,” owners of an LLC are referred to as “members.” An LLC is considered a distinct legal entity from its members, just as a corporation is a distinct entity from its shareholders. LLCs are unique in that they combine the liability protection of corporations with pass-through treatment of a partnership for federal income tax purposes. LLC’s can also be used as part of one’s estate plan. It is for these reasons LLCs are seen by many as providing the “best of all worlds” when it comes to selecting a entity form through which one might create and run a business.
Corporations
Assistance to the corporate client may start with the filing of the necessary documents to incorporate the business and grow to include counsel on such things as contract negotiations, asset sales and purchases, or, perhaps, establishment of an ESOP.