Creating a sound, strong foundation is the beginning step to any project, this holds true when establishing your business. While one may think that they can simply use a web based product to incorporate, or even try to do it on their own, there are key formalities that such practices may not make you aware of, or you may not select the right structure for what you want to accomplish. As such, while you may save a little money doing it yourself, you may not have the level of protection that you would otherwise obtain if you use an attorney.
Over my career, I helped create, establish, and advise businesses on sound corporate governance, along with litigating those same in courts across the country. Understanding how such matters are attacked and defended in court allows me to offer practical small business law advice when drafting the entity formation documents, or when dealing with a dispute among shareholders/business owners.
For instance, when creating your business, are you better off creating a Limited Liability Company, a Corporation with a Subchapter S election for tax purposes (an S Corporation), a partnership, or a limited liability partnership? A lot of it depends upon your goal, along with who your business partners may be. It is not a one-size fits all proposition. There are various issues that one needs to explore before settling upon the right structure.
Once you decide upon the correct structure, it is equally important to create sound, strong documents when it comes time to end a business relationship. There is nothing more irritating for a business owner than to be confronted with an unexpected bill or tax assessment well after business has closed, simply because the winding-up documents were not properly drafted. As such, the value of well-crafted documents setting forth not only when the business will end, but how the assets and liabilities will be divided cannot be understated. A thought-out, well-crafted dissolution agreement can go a long-way in minimizing any difficulties or conflicts when it comes to winding-down a business.
