Starting a Business

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The time to hire a business attorney is before you get into legal trouble.  It is much easier and more cost-effective to prevent problems rather than solve them.  Further, if you do get into legal trouble it will be much easier to deal with the issues if you already have a solid relationship with…

Business.gov is the "Official Link to the U.S Government".  This Web site is an excellent resource for the start-up business. 

The site has many helpful areas including:

1.  Business Resource Library – contains information on a variety of regulatory topics including taxes, managing and hiring employees and intellectual property;

2.  Government forms search – by…

Buying a franchise does not automatically provide you with limited liability.  The franchisor may be a corporation or LLC but that does not make your own franchise business a corporation or LLC.  You must still form your own corporation or LLC in order to obtain the benefits of limited liability.  Otherwise, you will have a…

Here is an interesting tidbit presented by the California Estate and Business Law Blog.

According to Turbotax the S Corporation has the lowest risk of audit for the various business entities.  Those audit risk percentages are:

S corporations   .19%

Partnerships     .26%

C Corporations    .71%

Sole Proprietorships     2.13%

But if you play…

As evidenced by a recent study from Iowa Association of Business and Industry, Iowa companies are concerned about the legal climate in Iowa. 

Here are five ways to avoid lawsuits against your business:

1.  Use written agreements.  Unfortunately the day is over when you could rely on a handshake.  Make sure that your agreements…

New York Small Business lawyer Imke Ratschko presents a helpful e-book on her blog "Small Business Guide to Risk Management – A complete guide for business decision-makers" published by the Association of Small Business Development Centers.

This easy to read guide discusses the many risks that businesses face and provides checklists to assess those risks…

Perhaps often overlooked, the Iowa Secretary of State Web site is an excellent resource for the Iowa start-up entrepreneur.  In the Iowa business services section of the site a business person can find information about a wide variety of topics including:

1.  A guide to the most commonly formed business organization options.  The guide…

In the last post I discussed incorporation and asset protection.  An often overlooked area of asset protection is estate planning.  My partner, Matt Gardner of Sullivan & Ward, P.C., has started a new Wealth and Estate Planning blog.  In his blog Matt will discuss estate planning, probate, small business planning and asset protection. …

Many advertisements on the Internet tout the benefits of forming a corporation.  The first benefit typically mentioned is that a corporation provides "limited libility".  Many of these companies would have you believe that if you form your own company for $99.00 you can magically protect your assets from creditors.  But asset protection is more than…