Limited Liability Company (LLC)

An LLC is a hybrid entity that is preferred by most new business owners. The LLC protects the individual members from business liability. In LLCs, the owners are called members. In LLCs, the members themselves are important to the LLC. One of the benefits of the LLC is that it is a “pass through” entity, allowing business profits and losses to pass-through to the individual members, to be reported on their individual income tax records.

In New York, LLCs have a publication requirement. Information on the LLC’s formation needs to be published in a county paper for a number of weeks, to inform the public of the formation. This is an expensive process that adds to the cost of LLC formation in NY, but is required to ensure you are protected from business liability.

C-Corporation

A C-Corporation is a legal entity that is distinct from an individual. C-Corporations are owned by share holders. C-Corporations can have multiple share classes, allowing different owners to have different rights to dividend disbursements and voting. Unlike with LLCs, the shareholders of C-Corporations can change rapidly and often.

Corporate profits are taxed annually at the corporate tax rate. Then, when shareholders receive dividends, the shareholders are taxed at their personal income rate. This creates the corporation “double tax” issue. Despite this issue, corporations can be the right vehicle for certain businesses. Generally, businesses that want flexibility in share classes will file as corporations.

 S-Corporation

An S-Corporation is a corporation owned by shareholders that has very specific rules. It is called an S-Corporation because it is regulated by sub-chapter S of the IRS code. An S-Corporation can only have one share class, which is one of the major distinctions between it and a C-Corporation. Also, S-Corporation shares may not be owned by individuals who are not U.S. citizens, and an S-Corporation can not have more than 100 individual shareholders.

An S-Corporation is a C-Corporation that has elected to be taxed as a “pass through” entity. This means that the corporation does not pay corporate income tax. Instead the income or loss is “passed through” to the owners, and they report such on their individual income taxes.

Not-for-Profit

A Not-for-Profit entity, or “Non-Profit” is an entity that is formed for a purpose that is not purely financial. There are many not-for-profit purposes, which can include private clubs, charitable organizations, religious organizations, organizations for the purpose of increasing education or health, etc. Very specific legal rules apply to Non-Profits. We help founders follow the legal rules and start their non-profit the right way

Professional LLCs

Many professionals that want to operate their business as an LLC are required to form Professional LLCs. This is a process by which the state requires additional assurances, proof, and approvals by licensing bodies, before the LLC can be formed. Indicating you  are a PLLC implies that you are a state licensed professional in the field that you work in.

Corporation

Many professionals that want to operate their business as a Corporation are required to form professional corporations. This is a process by which the state requires additional assurances, proof, and approvals by licensing bodies, before the corporation can be formed. Holding yourself out as a Professional Corporation implies that you are a state licensed professional in the field that you work in.

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They can help keep you out of court and may be your best defense if a lawsuit was brought stemming from use of your website.

Terms of Service

Terms of Service are the terms that you set for the public to interact with your website and also generally include required state and federal disclosures concerning site content.

Think mere browsing of your site is not a legal risk? Think again. By allowing the public to interact with your site without providing specific disclosures you could already be in violation of state or federal laws.

Specific laws covered in the Terms of Service include data collection disclosures not otherwise provided in the Privacy Policy, intellectual property rights, disclaimers of liability, third-party use of data, terms of interacting with third-parties through the site, policies that are prohibited when interacting with the site, account and password information, governing law, remedy for violation of the Terms of Service, and Reporting and Contact information.

Terms of Use

Terms of Use are the terms that the users of your site will need to agree to in order to either create an account on your site, make a purchase, or do some action that is different than just browsing.

The terms of use generally include the terms of the transaction at hand or terms of the increased interaction with the use of the site, third-party terms of use and interaction if relevant, disclaimers, disclosures, policies that are prohibited when interacting with the site, governing law, remedy for violation of the Terms of Service, and reporting and contact information.

Privacy Policy

The Privacy Policy is where you disclose what user data your site is collecting, and how that information is being used. Date your site might collect could include location data, payment data, user name and password, credit card or banking information, videos, photos, or posts. You also include how users can adjust data privacy controls on the site.

GDPR Compliance Advising

Doing business with Europe? The GDPR rules may apply to your site. GDPR rules go to not only to data collected, but also impact how data is stored and tracked, so that it can all be deleted upon specific request. Don’t go it alone.

Services Agreements

The Services Agreement governs how others provide services through your website. This Agreement includes indemnification provisions to protect you from third-party liability, sets the rules for how persons interact through you site, governs payment processes for giving and receiving funds, and provides for remedies upon breach.