Many business owners, just like most people, don't really like to think of what would happen if they were to pass away unexpectedly or become incapacitated. What would happen to their business? Your business interest is a personal asset, so unless you provide for it in some other way, it's go...
Are you a business owner thinking about giving equity to your key employees to thank them for a job well done? I am Katherine Taylor, the lawyer for business owners and I am going to give you a few tips as to when you should and should not do that. The first thing that you really need to know...
If you are registering an LLC or a corporation with your state corporation department, are you confused about the role of the “Organizer” and who that should be? I'm going to explain why you shouldn't have angst about that question. Almost every state (Maryland included) requires articles of ...
Are you in the process of forming a Maryland LLC or corporation, and wondering what address you should use for the principal office? Below is guidance as to what addresses you can and cannot use as your principal office address. If your business has a brick-and-mortar location, a physical pla...
Hi, I'm Katherine Taylor, the lawyer for business owners. I'm going to give you three tips as we approach the end of the year that hopefully will improve your bottom line and help you shore up your business structure going into 2022. The first thing I would like you to know and remember is tha...
If you are the owner of a small corporation, do you ever find yourself wondering whether you really need to have those shareholder and board meetings that are required by your articles of incorporation and bylaws? The short answer to that question is “yes, you do,” but I'm going to give you t...
Has your lawyer or accountant asked you what the amount of your capital contribution is? Do you know how to respond? A capital contribution is the amount of cash or other assets that an owner contributes to the company at the company's inception or throughout the life of the company. In th...
Have you ever heard somebody say that they own a "close” corporation and wondered whatthat means? A close corporation, sometimes referred to as a “closed” corporation, is a less formal way ofrunning a business; the shareholders have elected to have no board of directors. In a regular corporatio...
The causes of the tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, FL will likely notbe known for many months. However, one factor that has come to the fore is the role that theCondominium Association Board (“COA”) may have played in delaying or failing to understandthe urgent need for ...
Are you just starting a business and wondering whether you need to hire a lawyer? I'm going to tell you how you can get away with not hiring a lawyer, and also when I think it's a good idea to consult with a lawyer when starting a business. Most of the time when starting a business, you are...
Are you a business owner who has recently received a notice from the state stating that the charter for your LLC or Corporation has been forfeited? Well, I'm going to explain what to do if you're in this situation. First: don't panic. The charter for your LLC or Corporation is approved by t...
Has your business recently changed its office location or perhaps changed its resident agent? If so, you must make sure that you change that information with the state agency that holds all of that information about your entity. Why? Because the resident agent's address is where the state sen...
Has your business been using a name different from the formally registered name in your state? If so, you're using a trade name. Today I'm going to explain what a trade name is, what it isn't, and what you should do if you're using one. So first, what is a trade name? It is usually an informa...
Are you forming a business and trying to decide who or what entity you're going to name as a resident agent? I'm going to give you a few tips as to how you should make that decision. So first, what is a resident agent? The resident agent that you put forth on your articles of incorporation or a...
Are you a business owner thinking about bringing on an independent contractor to perform duties for your business? Wondering whether you need a written agreement? Previously, I explained that you don't really need a written employment contract for an employee. An independent contractor, howev...
Hi, are you a business owner wondering whether you actually need a written employment contract or not for an employee? I'm going to give you three situations where you should have a written employment contract.
If you are a business owner who formed an entity, such as an LLC or corporation, to achieve the limited liability that entities are known for, is there truly complete limited liability for the owners of the business? My answer to you is that, unfortunately, there isn't. While limited liability...
Are you a business owner with one or more partners, and have you ever been in a dispute with them? (By business partner, I mean LLC members or other shareholders of the business and in which you own your interest.) If you have, you know how emotionally exhausting and expensive it can be. If you...
Do you own a small corporation? Have you ever wondered whether you need a shareholders' agreement? In this post, I'm going to explain what a shareholders' agreement is and whether you should have one for your corporation. You should know that this applies only to corporations and not to LLCs, so...
You may have heard that you should do business succession planning, but what does that mean? In a nutshell, business succession planning is basically setting up plans to make sure that your business can continue if something should happen to you or another one of the owners. For instance, if yo...
Have vendors or professional advisors ever asked you to provide them an equity share in your company in exchange for their services? If so, I've got a couple of things that you're going to want to think about before you say yes.
Are you a business owner wondering whether you need to register your business to do business in a different state other than where your entity was formed? I'm going to give you a few tips as to when you definitely should register your business to do business in another state and a couple of situations where it's not so clear and you might want to consult somebody.
If you run a business, particularly a service-oriented business, you probably have a service agreement between you and your customers or clients. But is that service agreement good enough? Often, people who need a service agreement, especially those who are just starting a business, will grab ...
Are you a business owner with a website for your business? Have you wondered whether the terms of use or the privacy policy on your website are sufficient? If so, you're not alone. I'm going to give you a few tips so you can figure out whether your terms of use and privacy policy are sufficient, or whether you might need some further assistance.
Hi, I'm Katherine Taylor, the lawyer for business owners. Are you a business owner with one or more partners? And have you ever been in a dispute with one or more of your business partners? If so, you know how emotionally exhausting and expensive it can be. So I'm going to give you a few tip...
