Your business is your most valuable asset, and it also represents years of hard work, dedication, persistence, and self-sacrifice. Losing your business because it was not properly protected would be both a financial and emotional catastrophe. It can be prevented if the business itself and the manner in which the business is owned are structured correctly.
First and foremost, your business should be a limited liability company (LLC) and not a corporation. The reason your business should be an LLC and not a corporation is that the stock in a corporation can be seized by a creditor while the ownership interest in an LLC cannot be seized by a creditor. There are, however, some other rights available to a creditor of a business owner with respect to his or her LLC ownership interest, but with proper planning, those creditor rights can be eliminated. If your business is currently a corporation, with the proper planning, you can convert it into an LLC on a tax-free basis.
Many businesses have assets that themselves can cause liability. And if a business has assets that are not protected and are lost to a creditor, it could result in going out of business.
Protecting your business when its own assets can cause liabilities and protecting the most valuable assets of your business are essential for the continuation of the business and your peace of mind.
When should a business owner plan to protect the assets of the business and his/her ownership interest? Now! Before there is an incident giving rise to potential liability is the time to protect your assets and ownership interest from creditor claims. So, what are you waiting for?
At The Kaiser Law Firm, P.C., we know how to protect the assets of a business and the ownership interest in the business from creditor claims. Give us a call at 314-966-7766 and let us show you how it can be done for your business.