South Carolina Business Organization Lawyers
When starting a business, it is crucial to select the optimal organizational structure. The type of entity you select for your business will significantly impact the daily operations of the business, the income tax consequences, and the liability exposure.
Selecting an optimal business organization can help a business thrive and can protect the business owners and their heirs. The attorneys of Willcox, Buyck & Williams, P.A. have assisted thousands of clients with creating a business. We carefully review the goals and individual facts in each situation and recommend the best entity and the different elections or options available.
Types of Business Organizations in South Carolina
Forming a business involves more than filing the correct paperwork. The process also involves selecting the right type of business entity, focusing on creating asset protection, and limiting tax liability. The business entity you select will determine how much personal risk for business activities to which you’ll be exposed.
The type of business structure selected will also carry significant tax implications. The business attorneys at Willcox, Buyck & Williams, PA, will advise you on the best structure for your business and help your business prosper and grow for many years.
Business Formation Services We Provide
At Willcox, Buyck & Williams, PA, our services extend beyond the simple selection of an entity. Our lawyers are involved from the initial conference and decision-making, through document preparation and filing with appropriate authorities, to post-formation activities such as preparation and adoption of bylaws and director/shareholder resolutions. After a startup business is underway, we can help further with any business and commercial law matters or litigation that may arise. The types of entities include:
- Limited or general partnerships
- Limited liability companies (LLC)
- Corporations, C or sub-S
- Charitable corporations
The Benefits of Working with an Attorney to Form Your Business
Business startup owners may be tempted to use an online legal document company to create their business formation documents. However, there are many pitfalls of do-it-yourself business formation. Working with an attorney to form your business can help clients avoid the following common pitfalls:
- Business owners are being held personally liable for claims against your business.
- Difficulty attracting investors or securing funding
- Higher tax liability than necessary
- Wasting resources and time on compliance issues and the resulting legal consequences
Sole Proprietorship
A sole proprietorship is the simplest type of business structure. Sole proprietorships aren’t considered legal entities. Instead, they refer to a person who owns his or her business and is personally and financially responsible for all the business’s debts and liabilities. Any income from sole proprietorships is considered the owner’s income and isn’t taxed separately. Sole proprietorships expose business owners to significant personal liability. Other types of business structures offer better protection.
Forming a Partnership
Business partnerships are entities comprised of two or more owners who have agreed to share the management and profits of the business. General partnerships are unincorporated business entities in which two or more partners own the business and are personally liable for the liabilities and debts of the business.
General partnerships do not pay tax on their income. As with sole proprietorships, profits and losses are passed through to the partners and reported on each partner’s tax returns. Limited partnerships have a general partner and one more limited partner who does not participate in managing the partnership. A limited partner’s liability is limited to their investment in the partnership.
Forming an LLC
The way you choose to structure your company is critical for its success. Many business owners choose to create Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) taxed as a C-Corporation, S-Corporation, or a Partnership. This strategy has significant benefits compared to forming a traditional C-Corp, S-Corp, or General Partnership.
LLCs offer business owners significant flexibility regarding management structure and ownership. Unlike corporations, LLCs don’t require business owners to require a board of directors or another form of rigid management structure. As a result, business owners can quickly adapt to changing circumstances to manage their company efficiently.
Limited Liability Companies provide owners with protection from liability. LLCs shield the owner’s personal assets from the business’s debts, creditors, and other liabilities. The protection afforded to LLC owners is similar to that provided by corporations but not available in general partnerships.
Forming and maintaining an LLC is generally less expensive and more straightforward than filing a corporation. Corporations require extensive record-keeping, annual meetings, and additional filings. Many business owners form an LLC because they have fewer administrative burdens.
Forming a Corporation in South Carolina
Corporations have their own identity, separate from shareholders and owners. Although corporations provide directors and officers the most protection from liability, they also have more filing and reporting requirements. Working with an attorney to file Articles of Incorporation can help protect yourself and your interests.
An attorney can also help you ensure you’re meeting all the requirements of managing a corporation. Failure to act like a corporation can create personal liability for the operation of your business. An attorney can help you maintain corporate formalities in addition to merely filing the articles of incorporation. In addition to filing your articles of incorporation, our attorneys can help you prepare bylaws, organizational resolutions, stock certificates, and corporate portfolios. We provide clients with effective, efficient, South Carolina-specific legal advice.
Contact a Skilled Business Organization Attorney in Florence & Myrtle Beach, SC
Since 1895, Willcox, Buyck & Williams, P.A., has provided top-quality service to the people and businesses of South Carolina. The business organization attorneys of our firm have brought about hundreds of startup businesses and have earned the knowledge and experience to assist anyone in or near our Florence and Grand Strand, South Carolina, law offices.
Mark W. Buyck and Reynolds Williams have been listed in every edition of Best Lawyers in America. Contact us to set up an appointment with one of our lawyers. We respond quickly to all correspondence and keep clients abreast of developments in their cases. From law offices in Florence and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, we serve Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, Garden City, the Grand Strand, and other communities throughout Florence County, Marion County, Horry County, Darlington County, and Georgetown County.