how did you LLC?

[lawnwizards]

i read on here a story about a company being sued for over 3 million because a man slipped on some ice on a property they cleared. it got me to thinking that maybe i should LLC to keep my personal assets clear. anyway, how did you all become a Limited Liability Corp and how much did it cost? i was looking on legalzoom.com and its like $139 bucks. is this a good deal? thanks for replies.

[Lawnvision]

Sounds like a good price. I formed my LLC through my accountant and the Sec. of State. An attorney will cost $500-1000.

[chuck bow]

Me too, well iam not a LLC iam a s corp ( INC ) My CPA set it up and registered with Sec of State

[lawnwizards]

should i LLC or should i go another route? i eventually plan to expand beyond solo.

[Lawnvision]

C-corp and s-corp I believe are types of LLC's.(Not 100% sure...I just cut grass for a living )Or are very similar in terms of legal protection.

[topsites]

An LLC is a business license on top of a business license, what happens is you still need your local county or city permit but instead of going in your name it goes in the name of the LLC. That is called incorporation, you have just incorporated your local LCO under the LLC's umbrella license, and afaik you can have more than one business under it as well but ask your accountant. As for the type of LLC I believe this can be determined later and is mostly for tax purposes, but again they are right ask your accountant.

As for getting it you can either drive down to the State Corporation Commission... This building will be located downtown your state's capital and only in that city, or and I am pretty sure you can do it by mail...

There is a fee, I think $100 initial then $50 a year.

[Lawnvision]

One Advantage of incorporating is that you do noy pay self-employment tax.

[wintergreenlawn&landscape]

I just did it. Its easy. Go to your state website and download the necessary paperwork. Its on their business site, usually under the secretary of state. You have to register and get the name of your business approved to make sure no one else has it. That was a $30 fee in CT. Then you fill out the actual registration paperwork for $60. Then every year we have to pay $250 to keep the LLC. Its a little money for a lot of protection.

[lawnwizards]

I just did it. Its easy. Go to your state website and download the necessary paperwork. Its on their business site, usually under the secretary of state. You have to register and get the name of your business approved to make sure no one else has it. That was a $30 fee in CT. Then you fill out the actual registration paperwork for $60. Then every year we have to pay $250 to keep the LLC. Its a little money for a lot of protection.

thanks to everyone. you all have been very helpful.

[old oak lawn]

my attorney did mine llc. $600.00. you can do it yourself like others said, but for me i feel better that a attorney did mine. mine is 6 pages long.

[jwingfield2k]

I did mine in texas for 400 bucks.

www.incorporate.com

[Trhfire19]

I did mine through the Sec of State, cost me $150.00.

[Trader Rick]

Had our attorney do it. Cost more of course than doing it our self but I know it was done right the first time, besides I dont have time to fimble fool around with the stuff. I do what I do to make money and let other profesionals do what they do and use them just like they use me; then I write their service off of my taxes and the circle of cash keeps flowing.

:usflag: :weightlifter: :usflag:

[rodfather]

Had our attorney do it. Cost more of course than doing it our self but I know it was done right the first time, besides I dont have time to fimble fool around with the stuff. I do what I do to make money and let other profesionals do what they do and use them just like they use me; then I write their service off of my taxes and the circle of cash keeps flowing.

:usflag: :weightlifter: :usflag:

same here, cost me like $750 with my attorney and all my questions were answered as well.

[EJD Lawnpride]

Sec. of State, $90. My lawyer wanted $1,000!

[lawnwizards]

well, i did the legalzoom.com way and it cost me $338 all total.
that includes them doing all the work and i dont have to do nothing. i like it like that. only downfall is that i wont get my paperwork back for like 30 days.

[ATVracer]

I did mine online through the state for $90 and had the paperwork I believe the same day.

[luckydooley]

Did mine through Secretary of State online $100, 10 mins, got back in less than a week.

[RickR1818]

Do it yourself and save the money! All a lawyer is doing is filling the paperwork and then charging you for their time. Besides, what is the use of having a lawyer write out pages of information that you don't understand and paying extra for it. You can get step by step instructions from your states website about incorporating.

[mowerman41]

Did it take long for the state to get back to you once you submitted your application for your llc name?

[EJD Lawnpride]

I think it was 1 week.

[KCLandscape]

What about getting one in another state, like Delaware or Nevada?
I have heard there are advantages to doing that

[mjmlawncare]

this questiond is for wintergreen lawn & landscape, i am also from ct and i was wondering what was the website you are talking about i cant seem to find it, thanks

[rmmllc]

No advantages to doing it in Deleware or Nevada unless you are a huge C-corp. Those who did it themselves (I did, too) please read a book on LLC's. There are subtle nuances that you should understand, even those who had an attorney do theirs should understand their business. I could spend hours on this topic, but I went to school for this sort of thing, so it fascinates me (I know, I'm such a dork, I like to cut grass and study asset protection and business entities).
Point is, asset protection can be had, but you must administer the LLC like a business and not just another name for John Doe (you) or there is absolutely no asset protection.
The attorney that taught me sewed a guy's LLC (that went bankrupt and wouldn't pay even though the guy had tons of personal money) who owed him money (while he was a law student) and the guy lost easy (he had 2 attorneys with him- big suits, too) because he had an LLC in name only, didn't run it as such.

No problem doing it yourself, just be sure to understand it- it IS your business.

To through a kink in things, talk to your accountant about filing a 2553 to elect to be taxed as an S-corporation even though you are an LLC. That way you can avoid some self employment taxes by paying yourself dividends on some of the earned income (about 1/3 salary and 2/3 dividends), Since dividends are not subject to self employment taxes you save quite a bit, but you have to make the s-election (file a 2553) by March 15th, so do it quick if your accountant recommends it. Good luck-

[rmmllc]

PS- if any doubt about Deleware and Nevada (they have marketed well haven't they?) read a book called "Lawyers are Liars" my Mark Kohler- find it on Amazon. He's actually the friend I spoke of above and has grown his firm into a 4 state power house CPA and Law firm. The book is on asset protection and is an eye opener. Not dull stuff- recommended reading (from a lawn cutting dork- I also own a real estate investing company that is structured much more complicated than an LLC- it is actually an LLC owned by 2 S-corps and 2 retirement accounts (mine and my business partner's) -did you know your retirement account can invest in your company and earn tax free gains (if it is a Roth- tax defered if it is a traditional), that's why I studied all this- see, I'm such a dork)