SMALL BUSINESS FORMATION

If you are planning to start a small business or have a small business, are you protected?  Are your personal assets at risk?  Operating under the right type of business entity is vital to insulating your personal assets, maximizing tax advantages, and dealing with other legal and business start-up issues.  Prior proper planning could be the difference between success and failure.  Bellon & Lisiecki LLP is committed to the success of your business.  Let us help you start off on the right foot. 
The most common types of small business formations are as follows:
-  The Sole Proprietorship;
-  The Partnership (regular partnership, general partnership, limited partnership and the limited liability partnership);
-  The Corporation – either a Subchapter C Corporation or the Subchapter S election; and
-  The Limited Liability Company (LLC)
Which business entity is right for your business?  Which business entity offers you the most flexibility with the maximum protection?   In today’s litigious society, forming the correct business entity is essential and maximizing tax advantages is critical to success.  

The purpose of this web site is to provide general information on the law, which is subject to change. If you have a specific legal problem, you should to consult a lawyer.

Corporate Minutes:

Failure to prepare and maintain proper corporate records can make you personally liable for corporate debts!  Crucial tax benefits may also be lost if important tax decisions and elections are not properly documented and supported.

Bellon & Lisiecki, LLP can lift this burden from you by preparing and maintaining your corporate records to legal standards, providing you with both the protection and peace of mind that you work so hard to achieve.

Why it is Critical to prepare corporate minutes and written consents for corporate decisions:

• California Law requires annual corporate meetings.  Failure to meet these legal obligations may result in the loss of protection for you and your personal assets
• Acting in compliance with the laws and regulations is much easier to demonstrate if you have maintained a proper “legal paper trail”.  This same “paper trail” will prove critical to shareholders, directors, the IRS and possibly the courts when disputes arise.
• Keeping your shareholders informed of important corporate actions and decisions.
• For SMALL CORPORATIONS, directors often approve business transactions in which they have a direct financial interest.  Corporate minutes and consent forms can preclude legal disputes by demonstrating that these “self-interested” decisions were arrived at fairly and within compliance of all the rules regarding the board and shareholders.