Free LLC documents
Free LLC Documents
Free LLC documents are always a temptation, but are they a good Idea? Let’s face it, when you are starting a business you usually don’t have a lot of money and you save where you can. If you could download free LLC documents that would be a great savings, but would it be a safe thing to do? The answer is …partly.
Actually you can get those LLC Articles of Organization free on most state websites. (We have a site where these state references are available.) These are good documents and you should go for it, however you must not stop there. If you want true asset protection, you also need a well-structured operating agreement.
We live in a lawsuit crazy nation. More than 90 million lawsuits are filed in the US each year. Multi-million dollar awards have been given out for almost laughable claims. Once you start in business you have a target painted on you. Your operating agreement is the document that will protect you. It is where you need to spend your time and money when you create an LLC structure. It should be unique to you.
Free LLC Documents Be Careful of the “Setup”
Many business owners download some free LLC documents and figure they are “setup.” Unfortunately they are “set up” and they will find out how bad this boilerplate language set them up once the lawsuit arrives. The fact is that if you don’t define each element in your operating agreement, the state will define it for you. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to trust my business to the state.
I got a call the other day from a man who downloaded a one size fits all LLC operating agreement for his business. It wasn’t a free LLC document, but it was simply a one size fits all document. When a lawsuit hit, the judge took less than fifteen minutes to set aside his LLC operating agreement. Whoops! There went his asset protection.
Free LLC Documents May Leave You Hanging
The operating agreement is your “LLC bible.” You get to write it however you wish… If you do it correctly the courts will support what you write. If you neglect it, you will be at the court’s mercy. The unique opportunity you have to write your LLC operating agreement using free LLC documents will determine how much money you make and what asset protection you get. Most free LLC documents just give you a piece of paper for the state registration and never mention the weightier matters and tax saving opportunities. How can they? They just can’t get into that much detail.
Uniquely creating LLC asset protection and tax structures will pay big dividends to you in the long run. One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to creating an LLC operating agreement. The LLC Wizard will walk you through step-by-step how to create a unique operating agreement if you’d like more help. It will also help you with the tax entity consideration.
Be Creative with Your LLC Documents
You can actually create different LLC tax structures to fit your business needs. You can choose to be taxed as a partnership or sole proprietorship or a limited liability company. You simply file the appropriate papers with the IRS when you create your LLC. This is something most free LLC sites forget to tell you about.
The LLC requires a lot of other “formalities” that need to be attended to when you are creating an LLC structure. Please take the time to make certain that your form documents will actually protect you and give you the best tax advantages possible.
