Forming a LLc

[stavenstumper]

I know towns, states, countries have varying rules, I'm not looking for specifics, But what are the basic steps in forming an LLC. I've tried to read through some of the web sites but I just get more confused.

Local town clerks office, state ID number? etc.

Thanks...

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

1. Step 1: Find your local phone book. (I think you left it under that pile of papers over there.)
2. Step 2: Open to the "A" section.
3. Step 3: Find where the Attorneys are listed.
4. Step 4: Start making calls.

An LLC is not like a DBA - you need an attorney for this. You are forming a corporation. Do it wrong and you will regret it big time.

 

[Husky372]

You can do it yourself. But well worth the money to have an attorney do it for you. Go If you want to do it yourself go to your states web page all info will be there. I myself had my niece whos an attorney do it. All I had to do was go to state house and file.

 

[smokemonkey]

Lawyers just use a standard form and charge you $250 an hour to fill it out. And the websites are a con. Most states require you to file an Articles of Organization, in some states you just do it online on the state web site--they just ask you 8 or 9 questions. It's really just the basics, company name, owners, address, register agent, etc (but just in legal slang). The only thing you really need to figure out is if it's going to be "member" managed or "manager" managed--if the owners are going to run it or you're going to have a CEO. The other thing on there is the duration of the company (usually up to 99 years), but that's just the formality for tax purposes that allows LLCs to be formed in the first place.

The other thing that is often neglected (even by most lawyers) but I think is most critical is the Operating Agreement. The two states I've formed LLC's in didn't require that to filed, it more of just how things are going to be run. That's where you should spend you time on. I just when to the local library and got a couple books on forming an LLC. They were great--simple and straight forward, most even broke it down by state. They also gave examples, so I just scaned it and made the changes I wanted. I can't recall the title but the book encouraged you to do that--the author was genuinely interested in helping small businesses protect themselves without the lawyer/con artists taking advantage small-time owners. It's not that complicated in forming it youself. And if you're going to be running the business you need to know what every line of it means anyway.