Find More Articles
12Law Arrow 12Law Arrow  Easy Questions  
12Law Arrow 12Law Arrow Instant Legal Documents™
 
ESTATE PLANNING
Last Will and Testament
Living Trust
Living Will for Healthcare
 
FINANCIAL & MARITAL
Power of Attorney
Premarital Agreement
Cohabitation Agreement coming soon!
Separation Agreement coming soon!
No-Fault Divorce coming soon!
Bankruptcy coming soon!
 
BUSINESS
General Partnership
Consulting Agreement
Employee Documents coming soon!
Incorporation coming soon!
Limited Liability Company coming soon!
 

Benefits of a Limited Liability Company (LLC) in Santa Cruz, CA

Benefits of a Limited Liability Company (LLC) in Santa Cruz, CA


Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
 
- Steve Jobs


A limited liability company (LLC) is similar to a Partnership but has the liability protection for the owners that a corporation offers without the formalities, paperwork and fees. All new LLCs must file articles of organization with their secretary of state's office.

You should draft an operating agreement for your LLC that spells out the details of the business arrangement, including members' percentage ownership, roles, rights and responsibilities.

The LLC structure is a good way to "wall off" your personal assets from your company's liabilities, offering protection for your personal assets in the event of a liability or judgment against your business.

A limited liability company (LLC) also has certain tax advantages. The business itself is not responsible for taxes on its profits. Instead, the LLC's owners, known as "members," report their share of business profit and loss on their personal tax returns, similar to tax reporting for a General Partnership. This is known as "pass-through" taxation.


There are many benefits to an LLC structure.

  • Protected assets: LLCs provide limited liability protection to their owners (members), who are typically not personally responsible for the business debts and liabilities of the LLC. Creditors cannot pursue the personal assets (house, savings accounts, etc.) of the owners to pay business debts. Conversely, in a sole proprietorship or General Partnership, owners and the business are legally considered the same—leaving personal assets vulnerable.
  • Pass-through taxation: LLCs typically do not pay taxes at the business level. Any business income or loss is "passed-through" to owners and reported on their personal income tax returns. Any tax due is paid at the individual level.
  • Heightened credibility: Forming an LLC may help a new business establish credibility with potential customers, employees, vendors and partners because they see you have made a formal commitment to your business.
  • Limited compliance requirements: LLCs face fewer state-imposed annual requirements and ongoing formalities than S corporations and C corporations.
  • Flexible management structure: LLCs are free to establish any organizational structure agreed upon by the company owners. LLCs can be managed by the owners (members) or by managers, unlike corporations which have a board of directors who oversee the major business decisions of the company and officers who manage the day-to-day affairs.
  • Few restrictions: There are few restrictions on who can be an LLC owner or how many owners an LLC may have (unlike S corporations).


    • Potential LLC Disadvantages

    LLCs may have some potential disadvantages, including:

  • Formation and ongoing expenses: To form an LLC, Articles of Organization must be filed with the state and the applicable state filing fees paid. Many states impose ongoing fees, such as annual report and/or franchise tax fees. While these fees often are not very expensive for small businesses, LLC formation is more expensive than that of a sole proprietorship or General Partnership, both of which are not required to file formation documents with the state. A few states, such as New York and Arizona, also require LLC owners to publish notice of the LLC formation in local newspapers for several weeks. This can be costly.
  • Transferable ownership: Ownership in an LLC is often harder to transfer than with a corporation. With corporations, shares of stock can be sold to increase ownership. Typically with LLCs, all owners must approve adding new owners or altering the ownership percentages of existing owners.
  • Less precedent: Because the LLC is a newer type of business structure, there is not as much case law or legal precedent for LLCs as there is for corporations.

    •  
    Personalize & Print a Free CA Last Will Create This Document
    Page 1
    Page 2
    Page 3
    Page 4
    Page 5
    Page 6
    Page 7
    Page 8
    Page 9
    Page 10
     
    Personalize & Print a Free CA Living Will Create This Document
    Page 1
    Page 2
    Page 3
    Page 4
    Page 5
    Page 6
    Page 7
    Page 8
    Related Legal Services near Santa Cruz, CA
    Page Salisbury & Dudley
    605 Center St
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060
    (831) 429-9966
    Attorneys, General Practice Attorneys, Legal Service Plans
    Morgan Timothy J
    121 Jewell St
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060
    (831) 429-9841
    Attorneys, Real Estate Attorneys, Estate Planning, Probate, & Living Trusts, Civil Litigation & Tria
    Towse Robin
    625 Water St
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060
    (831) 426-9792
    Attorneys,  Divorce Assistance,  Family Law Attorneys,  Estate Planning Attorneys,  Wills, Trusts &
    Damon, Richard E - Richard E Damon Pc
    125 Water St Ste D
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060
    (831) 429-9752
    Attorneys,  Accident & Property Damage Attorneys,  Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning Attorneys,  Pers
    Mediation Center
    550 Water St Ste J3
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060
    (831) 429-9721
    Arbitration Services, Attorneys, Family Law Attorneys, Divorce Attorneys, Counseling Services, Legal
    Bankruptcy Center of Santa Cruz
    104 Walnut Ave
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060
    (831) 466-9680
    Bankruptcy Services,  Attorneys,  Bankruptcy Law Attorneys,  Debt Adjusters,  Financial Services,  C
    Taylor Morgan C
    303 Potrero St # 43-109
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060
    (831) 471-9637
    Attorneys, Labor & Employment Law Attorneys, Product Liability Law Attorneys, Social Security & Disa
    Stevens Pascha R
    915 Cedar St
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060
    (831) 460-9588
    Attorneys, Legal Service Plans
    Rucka O'Boyle Lombardo & McKenna
    555 Soquel Ave Ste 120
    Santa Cruz, CA 95062
    (831) 316-9553
    Social Security & Disability Law Attorneys,  Attorneys,  Labor & Employment Law Attorneys,  Personal
    Rodriguez Arturo
    1362 Pacific Ave
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060
    (831) 471-9444
    Attorneys,  Child Custody Attorneys,  Family Law Attorneys,  Mediation Services,  Divorce Attorneys
    Philipovitch Catherine A
    152 Walnut Ave
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060
    (831) 423-9300
    Attorneys, General Practice Attorneys
    Wendy Morgan Family Law
    550 Water St # J3
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060
    (831) 466-9239
    Attorneys, Mediation Services
    Flocks Reed
    303 Water St Suite 10
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060
    (831) 426-9232
    Divorce Attorneys, Legal Service Plans, Attorneys, Divorce Assistance, Family Law Attorneys, General
    Stephen La Berge
    303 Water St
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060
    (831) 426-9232
    Attorneys,  Family Law Attorneys,  General Practice Attorneys,  Divorce Assistance,  Legal Service P
    Wilson Jill G
    848 Hanover St
    Santa Cruz, CA 95062
    (831) 429-9181
    Probate Law Attorneys,  Wills, Trusts & Estate Planning Attorneys,  Attorneys,  Estate Planning Att
    Thomas M Bloom Law Offices
    1414 Soquel Ave # 212
    Santa Cruz, CA 95062
    (831) 227-9143
    Divorce Attorneys, Family Law Attorneys, Attorneys
    Southers Eleanor Law Office
    1362 Pacific Ave
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060
    (831) 466-9132
    General Practice Attorneys, Attorneys
    Brennan Enda Thomas
    108 Locust St Ste 14
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060
    (831) 429-9100
    Criminal Law Attorneys, Attorneys, Legal Service Plans
    SANTA CRUZ BANKRUPTCY AUGUST BULLOCK
    1414 Soquel Avenue # 220
    Santa Cruz, CA 95062
    (831) 466-9047
    Legal Service Plans,  Bankruptcy Services,  Bankruptcy Law Attorneys,  General Practice Attorneys,  
    Hess Angel L LDA Legal Assistant And Notary Public
    340 Soquel Ave
    Santa Cruz, CA 95062
    (831) 426-8536
    Paralegals, Legal Document Assistance
    Brewington, Kathleen
    555 Soquel Ave
    Santa Cruz, CA 95062
    (831) 459-8498
    Estate Planning, Probate, & Living Trusts,  Attorneys,  Probate Law Attorneys,  Elder Law Attorney
    Legal Docs
    740 Front St # 115
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060
    (831) 457-8257
    Paralegals, Attorneys, Family Law Attorneys, Divorce Attorneys, Divorce Assistance, Legal Forms, Leg
    Deborah Howard Law Offices
    1414 Soquel Ave # 224
    Santa Cruz, CA 95062
    (831) 479-8200
    General Practice Attorneys, Attorneys
    Kane, Douglas C
    123 Jewell St
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060
    (831) 459-8000
    Attorneys, Employment Discrimination Attorneys, Sexual Harassment Attorneys
    12Law.com   |  NASHVILLE, TN USA   |  CONTACT US