Articles of Incorporation act as a charter to establish the existence of a corporation in the United States, and are filed with the Secretary of State where the business entity is doing business. They are sometimes referred to as the certificate of incorporation or...
Owning your own business is part of the American Dream, but most business owners don't have the expertise to determine how and where that business should be set up to protect themselves against lawsuits and liability. Garrett Sutton explains how owning the right...
Are you protected if you're in a car wreck or are sued? Will your LLC assets be sold to pay the lawsuit winner? It depends on the state. Learn why Wyoming's laws are an entrepreneur's best friend and how to use it to your advantage. Wyoming Law Blocks A Judicial...
By Stephanie Song No matter how advanced technology gets, there will always be a number of core applications where nothing but ink and paper get the job done. For entrepreneurs, there are many crucial documents that have to be preserved and tracked in physical form....
By Garrett Sutton, Esq. & Gerri Detweiler Angel investors and venture capitalists (VCs) both provide early funding. The similarities end there. VCs, being nicknamed “vulture capitalists,” are some tough birds. They have to be. They take on risks where even angels...
Could a business name affect your personal liability, business credit or even your ability to run your business at all. The answer to all the above is, "yes." Read on to determine if your business name sets you up for success, or trouble down the road. 1. Is the Name...
In the shuffle of setting up your startup, ensuring all legal requirements are properly handled can seem like just another overwhelming chore, something to figure out later, or - worst of all - something that never gets done and you hope goes unnoticed. Many new...
We’ve warned you about risky investments using retirement monies. We’ve said the courts would come down on them. But the latest case, combined with new Department of Labor regulations, should have scheme promoters thinking about leaving the country to avoid litigation...
By Garrett Sutton, Esq The state of California has implemented rules (and costs) for business owners and holders of real estate located within California. In this fashion, you had the better protection of a Wyoming LLC. In Attack #1 where a tenant, for example, sues...
Nevada and Wyoming both offer excellent asset protection benefits and no state taxation. The corporate and LLC laws in each state are business friendly, and under the favorable laws directors, officers, shareholders, managers and/or members do not have to live or hold...
It’s hard to believe that 50% of business and real estate ventures are losing one of the most common legal attacks because they fail to protect against court decisions that pierce the veil. This means business and real estate venture owners are being held personally...
Entrepreneurs are typically resourceful when it comes to finding ways to pay the bills or finance growth, but these two sources of small business loans are often overlooked. Borrowing Against Life Insurance Policies If you have a life insurance policy with cash value...
Because S Corporations allow for the minimization of payroll taxes, the IRS is now auditing S Corporations to see if reasonable salaries are being paid to employees. The issue here is that if too little in salary is paid, then consequently, too much profit...
Can you be held liable for the losses and failings of an independent business? A business you had no contractual relationship with? In California you can. Do you agree with the court’s decision? The case is Apex Directional Drilling, LLC vs. SHN Consulting Engineers...
IRA (Individual Retirement Account) can provide greater flexibility in investing than a 401(k), but it can also be surprisingly easy to jeopardize your nest egg if you’re not careful to follow the letter of the law. When you have money in your IRA (Individual...
Is anyone protected from a cyber security breach? And what steps can you take to protect yourself? Universities, retailers and even the government have all been exposed to cyber thieves. The government’s office of Personal Management lost over 5 million fingerprint...
To answer this question, first let's answer what an entity is. What is an Entity? An entity is a business organized according to state law to limit the liability of the owners. Entities can be corporations, limited-liability companies (LLCs) and limited partnerships...
California Does Something Right! Since I am so critical of California’s anti-business policies and bureaucracy, it is only fair that I notice and spread the word when they have gotten something exactly right. So a tip of the hat to California’s legislature for passing...
If you are a foreign citizen or business investing in the U.S. this article is important to you. All U.S. business enterprises with a new foreign investment totaling 10% or more must file the BE-13 Survey within 45 days of the transaction, or risk fines of $25,000 and...
What the heck is crowdfunding? And why has the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), the government's stock market watchdog, been so cautious about it all? Three years after the SEC was directed to come up with new crowdfunding rules, they finally delivered. As...
Learn Various Facets of Doing Business in 39 Countries As business becomes more global, it becomes even more important to appreciate how local it remains. This is to say that there is not one global standard for doing business: How you conduct a meeting, How you...