How To Incorporate Yourself Without a Lawyer

You could save hundreds of dollars by incorporating yourself without a lawyer. How? Is it advisable to do so?

1. This is Not Legal Advice!

The only ones who should be giving legal advice are those licensed to practise law (in other words, only lawyers). This article is not legal advice. If you need legal advice, consult a lawyer.

This article is being written simply to inform you that it is possible to form a corporation or limited liability company without a lawyer.

2. Why Use a Lawyer?

First of all, if you make a mistake incorporating yourself, who do you sue? You only have yourself to blame. On the other hand, a lawyer has insurance to cover errors and omissions.

Secondly, you could benefit from the expertise of your lawyer. Perhaps a corporation isn't the right vehicle for you under your circumstances. Be aware that there can be disadvantages as well as advantages to incorporating. Your lawyer can consider commercial law, securities legislation, limited liability, tax factors, estate planning, share structure, and a myriad of other business considerations. Sometimes the advice of a good lawyer can save you thousands of dollars.

3. Is it Advisable to Incorporate Yourself?

Is it advisable to perform surgery on yourself? It is illegal to perform surgery on someone else unless you are licensed to practise medicine, but perhaps in a wilderness survival scenario, self-surgery might be your only option. However, is performing surgery on yourself really a good idea in most instances?

Likewise, just because it is possible to incorporate yourself without a lawyer doesn't mean it is always a good idea.

In some jurisdictions, only lawyers can incorporate others. For a paralegal or other person to incorporate a company for you could be considered unauthorized practise of law. Thus, it may be legal to incorporate yourself but not others.

Some factors you might consider are: Am I really that short of cash that I can't spend the extra money for good legal advice that may save me thousands of dollars? Am I confident that my situation is one that really doesn't need the services of a lawyer to incorporate? Can the money saved on legal fees be better utilized in financing other aspects of my business?

Each person will have to make their own decision on whether or not to seek the services of a lawyer in forming a corporation.

"He who has himself as a lawyer has a fool for a client." I have often thought that perhaps a law firm originated this common expression.

4. How To Incorporate Yourself

Many books have been written by lawyers on how to incorporate yourself.

For example, in Canada, M. Stephen Georgas, LL.B., has written books on the subject of forming your own corporation. Published by International Self-Counsel Press Ltd., he has authored "Incorporation and Business Guide for Ontario" ("How to form your own corporation Includes tax advantages to incorporating") and "Federal Incorporation And Business Guide" ("How to form your own Federal corporation under The Canada Business Corporations Act").

The same publisher sells forms and minute books as well as titles for incorporating in other provinces of Canada.

Forms, corporate supplies, name searches, and kits are available from legal stationers and other sources.

In the United States, there are likewise many manuals available for incorporating yourself in various states. "Incorporating Your Business For Dummies" by The Company Corporation and "How To Form Your Own Corporation Without a Lawyer for Under $75.00" by Ted Nicholas are two such books.

Sometimes helpful information on this subject is available from federal, provincial and state governments for free or nominal cost.

You can sometimes locate incorporation manuals at your local library for free. Be careful. Legal manuals become outdated very rapidly. You might consider very seriously purchasing the most up-to-date manual available; it might also include helpful reference material on maintaining corporate minutes and other helpful suggestions on operating your corporation.

Buy the appropriate manual and supplies and then follow the instructions. With a little effort, you could save hundreds of dollars incorporating yourself without a lawyer.

For further resources on incorporation, please visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/incorporation.html

J. Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc., www.popeconsultinginc.com has been helping clients to earn maximum business profits for over twenty years.

For valuable Work at Home Small Business Ideas, visit
http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/

Limit Your Liability to Protect Your Assets

If your business runs into serious difficulty, will it bring you down too? For example, what if one of your employees got involved in a serious car accident while working for you? Will the resulting lawsuit bankrupt you personally?

Here are just a few ways of protecting yourself against catastrophic losses and lawsuits.

1. Obtain Adequate Insurance Coverage

If someone slips on the sidewalk of your home and injures himself, he could sue you for damages. Your tenant`s or homeowner`s policy may cover you for liability in such an event.

However, what if it is your customer who falls on his way to visiting your home-based business? You will need an extra rider on your house insurance to cover such incidental business use. The extra charge for this additional coverage is well worth it.

If you use a car for business use, insure it for such. Some people think that they are being clever writing off automobile expenses for income tax purposes but at the same time not informing the insurance company that the car is being used for business.

This is false economy. If you ever get into an accident, police and insurance investigators will certainly find out that you used the vehicle for business purposes. If you`re not paying for business coverage, why would the insurance company cover your claim?

As well, what do you think an income tax auditor would think of your claimed business expenses on the vehicle when your insurance policy indicates personal coverage only? Avoid this additional exposure to tax liability.

Be sure to obtain required workers` compensation coverage. Some have been held responsible for all the medical and other expenses of an injured worker, as well as fines for non-compliance to the law. These costs can be quite substantial and even bankrupt you.

Consider obtaining product liability insurance. This applies not just for any products you manufacture but also for products you sell that are made by others.

2. Incorporate Your Business

Insurance may give you some protection against loss. However, you may suffer business losses and lawsuits that may not be covered by your insurance fully. What then?

An extra level of protection can be obtained by forming your own corporation. Even though incorporating yourself will result in extra paperwork and costs, it could be the best insurance you ever bought.

This is because the corporation is a seperate legal entity or person. Even though you may own the corporation, if the corporation operates the business, it is the corporation that will be sued or suffer loss.

If, for example, the corporation had severe business losses resulting in debts that could not be repaid, the corporation would be insolvent. You, as a shareholder, would lose your investment in the company but would generally not be responsible for any of its debts. Thus, you would not have to sell your home or other personal assets to cover the corporation`s liabilities.

On the other hand, there are cases where directors of a corporation can be held responsible for liabilities if they didn`t act responsibly. You can`t hide behind a corporation, commit criminal acts and expect to escape accountability.

For more information about incorporation, visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/incorporation.html

3. Protect Yourself With Legal Agreements

Properly drafted written agreements can protect you in many ways. First of all, they can sometimes prevent misunderstandings that can lead to legal problems. Secondly, they may limit your exposure to lawsuits and losses.

Contracts can limit your exposure to liability by including provisions restricting the scope of your work and responsibility, having disputes handled by arbitration rather than through the Courts, and specifying that the maximum damages payable shall not exceed the amount of the contract.

A special area to watch out for is the Internet. There are many laws that impact on websites including matters affecting children, privacy, earnings claims, and unsolicited e-mail ("spam"). Certain agreements and notices on your website may help to protect you.

For more information about Internet law, visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/internet-law.html

Protect yourself from catastrophic losses and lawsuits. Take steps today to protect your assets by limiting your exposure to liability.

J. Stephen Pope, President of Pope Consulting Inc., www.popeconsultinginc.com has been helping clients to earn maximum business profits for over twenty-five years.

For valuable Work at Home Small Business Ideas, visit: http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/