Corporation question

[ledo99]

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I am working on establishing a corporation, actually 2 seperate entities; one for my medical practice (I'm currently employed but starting my own practice), and the second one will be a trading company (an LLC) to start an import/export business. I've consulted with a law firm that specializes in health care (recommended by a friend) and they would help establishing both entities. the trading LLC will be most likely established in Delaware or Nevada, etc. Their fee is about $435 per hour plus the other expenses (paperwork, fax, mail, etc). does this seem reasonable or excessive? they are based in NY. do you guys have any other recommendations on finding a good law firm that help me with this process?

 

[Pain Applicant1]

I'm not sure why you would you pay someone to start it for you, especially while leaving the price tag open ended with an hourly wage. Starting your own corp or LLC is not difficult. It just requires a little reading. Just go to the state corporation commission's website and read their instructions. If you have questions, just call them. You can always read the dummies books or NOLO if you want a better understanding. I started my PLLC when I started my practice a few months and didn't find it very difficult at all.

 

[mille125]

I am working on establishing a corporation, actually 2 seperate entities; one for my medical practice (I'm currently employed but starting my own practice), and the second one will be a trading company (an LLC) to start an import/export business. I've consulted with a law firm that specializes in health care (recommended by a friend) and they would help establishing both entities. the trading LLC will be most likely established in Delaware or Nevada, etc. Their fee is about $435 per hour plus the other expenses (paperwork, fax, mail, etc). does this seem reasonable or excessive? they are based in NY. do you guys have any other recommendations on finding a good law firm that help me with this process?

400 dollars an hour or so is the going rate. I agree that you could do it yourself if you really wanted to.

 

[ledo99]

Thanks for the reply guys. what you said makes sense... I did some research and it seems that establishing an LLC in Delaware or Nevada for example is not that complicated. I found several companies (online) that can take care of the logistics for a flat fee ($300-600) rather than charging an hourly rate.. I guess I need to look into that option as well.

it sounds like what's more important than a law firm is getting a good accountant on board to help with good tax planning, etc. would a corporate lawyer be needed for other issues besides establishing the entity?

 

[Pain Applicant1]

Thanks for the reply guys. what you said makes sense... I did some research and it seems that establishing an LLC in Delaware or Nevada for example is not that complicated. I found several companies (online) that can take care of the logistics for a flat fee ($300-600) rather than charging an hourly rate.. I guess I need to look into that option as well.

it sounds like what's more important than a law firm is getting a good accountant on board to help with good tax planning, etc. would a corporate lawyer be needed for other issues besides establishing the entity?

Although I just opened my practice doors on Sept 1, I went through these same questions when I created my company a few months back.

The lawyer will really be the one to help you with asset protection. For instance, which would be the type of entity to form in order to protect your assets in the event of a slip and fall lawsuit. Keep in mind however, that malpractice will never be protected by a corporate structure. The accountant is there to help you determine the best corporate structure for tax related purposes. For instance, should you treat your LLC as a corporation and if so which type. There are pros and cons to these decisions and the accountant can help you navigate them. These two folks, should you choose to use them, must communicate with each other. The lawyer can also help you create the appropriate paperwork such as the operating agreement.

If you don't want to do it completely on your own but don't want to pay a lawyer's fees, you can also consider incorporating through legal zoom.

With that said, I highly recommend you to learn the differences on your own. After reading a few books on business entities, I actually ended up teaching a few things to my accountant and lawyer. Nobody will ever look after your best interest as much as you will and you'll have a better understanding of how to run your business if you establish a basic business education. You need to be able to think in business terms which was initially a bit foreign to me. For instance, you need to understand that your business is almost in a sense its own person, albeit is not human. You must treat it as its own entity or a judge may not see it as being separate (piercing the corporate veil) from you regardless of if articles of incorporation/organization are completed or not. You'll also be better at making informed business decisions. While it's always a pain to learn something new, the rewards will definitely pay off. Either way, best of luck.

 

[PinchandBurn]

Thanks for the reply guys. what you said makes sense... I did some research and it seems that establishing an LLC in Delaware or Nevada for example is not that complicated. I found several companies (online) that can take care of the logistics for a flat fee ($300-600) rather than charging an hourly rate.. I guess I need to look into that option as well.

it sounds like what's more important than a law firm is getting a good accountant on board to help with good tax planning, etc. would a corporate lawyer be needed for other issues besides establishing the entity?

Try these guys out: http://www.nevada123.com/


I ve called them. Havent opened anything up with them. They do it all for like $1400 or so. Seems reasonable if you are a busy doc and just want someone else to take care of it for you.

 

[Tenesma]

you can do this on your own

HOWEVER, if you have any intentions to make sure you are asset protected and that your creditors can't pierce your LLCs then having a lawyer set up the LLCs with multiple owners, and then having them help pass yearly %shares to your kids so as to bypass the transfer/estate taxes, then yes, you want a good asset (Trust & Estate) lawyer set-up those corp entities...

 

[Pain Applicant1]

you can do this on your own

HOWEVER, if you have any intentions to make sure you are asset protected and that your creditors can't pierce your LLCs then having a lawyer set up the LLCs with multiple owners, and then having them help pass yearly %shares to your kids so as to bypass the transfer/estate taxes, then yes, you want a good asset (Trust & Estate) lawyer set-up those corp entities...

Agreed. If you're looking for true asset protection then you need an attorney who focuses on that. This can become very complicated and I believe there are truly only a handful who are proficient. Quite often, these are different from attorney's who just set up corporations and companies for a living.

 

[ledo99]

Thanks for the valuable info and advice. I wonder if I can I simply start an LLC throught either legal zoom, inc now, or incorporate dot com, etc. then get an accountant to work on the tax details. the LLC will be initially me and my wife (who will be managing a lot of the daily operations), so my thought was to establish the LLC with me as the owner, and my wife as an employed manager. does that make more sense compared to us become the 2 owners of the entity?

regarding the asset protection part, can I start the entity first to get things moving and then get some professional input from an asset/corp lawyer regarding asset protection or it has to be done from the get go?

 

[Pain Applicant1]

Thanks for the valuable info and advice. I wonder if I can I simply start an LLC throught either legal zoom, inc now, or incorporate dot com, etc. then get an accountant to work on the tax details. the LLC will be initially me and my wife (who will be managing a lot of the daily operations), so my thought was to establish the LLC with me as the owner, and my wife as an employed manager. does that make more sense compared to us become the 2 owners of the entity?

regarding the asset protection part, can I start the entity first to get things moving and then get some professional input from an asset/corp lawyer regarding asset protection or it has to be done from the get go?

You can do whatever you'd like for asset protection but you must keep in mind that if you start up an LLC and want to change it to a different entity at a later time it can get really sticky. You'll have to fill out forms with the IRS and go through a process. You'll also have to update your information with your insurance companies which I'll assume can be a nightmare. It took me over two months just to change my office address with my medicare fiscal intermediary. 😱 It nearly drove me mad. If you plan on getting input from the attorney, it may be more helpful to get him or her involved at the beginning and just fork over a few thousand dollars. I think that would be the best thing. Just remember to find someone that has a lot of experience and comes recommended. There's a lot of shady folks out there. I read one guy's book (Robert J. Mintz, 5 bucks off of Amazon) and spoke to him on the phone but have not yet used him so I can't really offer any recommendations at this time.

I'm not really in a position to give any advice on the owner aspects of the LLC as I'm not a lawyer nor an accountant and don't really have much experience. I'm engaged but not yet married and I started my own solo practice so this issue didn't really apply to me and therefore I haven't done the respective reading. I'll assume that getting your wife involved would probably fall under the asset protection part. Keep in mind, that if your wife is owner, her ownership in the company may be at risk. The limited liability part of the LLC is actually what will protect you from her liability (limits your liability). I don't believe the owner aspect will really make much of a difference at this time. You can probably change it later as you see fit through your operating agreement. Hope this helps.

PS: if you're going to form your entity through legal zoom, you should give your state corporate commission a quick call. I think you'll find it just as easy to set up yourself and you can save the few hundred dollars. It's really nothing more than filling out a couple of forms and mailing it in.

 

[ledo99]

You can do whatever you'd like for asset protection but you must keep in mind that if you start up an LLC and want to change it to a different entity at a later time it can get really sticky. You'll have to fill out forms with the IRS and go through a process. You'll also have to update your information with your insurance companies which I'll assume can be a nightmare. It took me over two months just to change my office address with my medicare fiscal intermediary. 😱 It nearly drove me mad. If you plan on getting input from the attorney, it may be more helpful to get him or her involved at the beginning and just fork over a few thousand dollars. I think that would be the best thing. Just remember to find someone that has a lot of experience and comes recommended. There's a lot of shady folks out there. I read one guy's book (Robert J. Mintz, 5 bucks off of Amazon) and spoke to him on the phone but have not yet used him so I can't really offer any recommendations at this time.

I'm not really in a position to give any advice on the owner aspects of the LLC as I'm not a lawyer nor an accountant and don't really have much experience. I'm engaged but not yet married and I started my own solo practice so this issue didn't really apply to me and therefore I haven't done the respective reading. I'll assume that getting your wife involved would probably fall under the asset protection part. Keep in mind, that if your wife is owner, her ownership in the company may be at risk. The limited liability part of the LLC is actually what will protect you from her liability (limits your liability). I don't believe the owner aspect will really make much of a difference at this time. You can probably change it later as you see fit through your operating agreement. Hope this helps.

PS: if you're going to form your entity through legal zoom, you should give your state corporate commission a quick call. I think you'll find it just as easy to set up yourself and you can save the few hundred dollars. It's really nothing more than filling out a couple of forms and mailing it in.

Thanks so much. I appreciate the reply and the valuable info!