Two recent conversations have reminded me of the importance of separating business enterprises for liability protection. I was helping a Sunnyvale real estate investor negotiate a commercial loan extension with a bank, and was thrilled that we had planned well in the past to separate all of his major properties…
In my San Jose law practice, I often meet with clients who tell me they want to form a certain type of entity, and then proceed to tell me some facts that actually disqualify them from that form of entity. Even worse is when the client tells me that some…
As usual, January is a time when people think about getting their business in order and consider the ‘choice of entity’ question. Already this month I have received calls from two contractors, one from San Jose and one from Sunnyvale, who want to form an entity for their construction business.…
Since 1995 only attorneys, architects and accountants were eligible to practice as a limited liability partnership in California. However, as of September 30, 2010 new rules now allow engineers and land surveyors to take advantage of the LLP form of entity as well. Although the law currently only extends until…
In Part 1 of this entry, I discussed problems that some of my Silicon Valley clients have had with improper choice of entity – either because the tax consequences weren’t considered, or because restrictions in the California Corporations Code or Business and Professions Code were not taken into account. Here…
I was in Los Gatos getting my hair cut this weekend and my hairdresser said something very interesting – he said that his best clients are the ones who try to do their hair themselves (especially their color) and then come to him to fix the mess they made. He…