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Incorporating as One Person

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5/23/2003 8:01 PM

Incorporating as One Person

Seems to me that you need to have at least two people to form a viable corporation. Is this right? I heard that if you form an LLC as only yourself, a good lawyer can penetrate it by claiming that the corporation is nothing but your ALTER EGO and therefore not capable of legal protection.

How can I incorporate as myself without anyone else being involved (not my wife, kids, mother-in-law, not anyone - I don't trust any of 'em) and still have full legal protection.

In other words, do all of you having corps and LLC's have more than one owner or did you do it all as yourself?

5/23/2003 9:14 PM

Just me, no problem in Texas.

Regular ordinary corporation though so I pay double taxes. Supposedly an LLC is a wimpy type of corporation intended to avoid these tax drawbacks, maybe you get what you pay for?

Well, it really did take two people since I couldn't have done it properly without my attorney which anyone should have for setting it up.

But the corp is one-man unless I decide to employ others, form partnerships, accept investors and/or sell shares.

AFAIK nothing here legally different whether I own 100percent of the shares or 51percent.

IMHO a lack of trust will be more of a barrier to prosperity than opportunities provided by limitation of liability.

I'm not giving up the private practice I incorporated, I just needed one for my own self, but my future corporations will be partnerships with others, also nonprofits are likely in an area or two.

However I expect to make more money from profitable partnerships operated as trusts. They are called trusts for a reason.

Where it looks like incorporation is a workable plan if there is no one you can trust, the landscape changes so dramatically when someone who can be completely trusted can be put in control of the assets you are operating, the options for prosperity from the same resources seem to be always greater than the corporate method.

Mike

5/23/2003 10:25 PM

Looks like Texas is a good state to incorporate in.

I was looking to start a small corporation just for my own personal micro-business endeavors, not intended for something that would be more than a one man operation.

It's not really an issue of mistrust. It's more the thing of having a one man show that really does not require others to get involved, at least initially.

My state requires two officers at minimum to incorporate. Friends of mine who have incorporated have chosen their wife or a child to be an officer for none other than the simple reason that they needed an additional name on paper. That is the kind of thing I'm trying to avoid.

Thanks for your comments.

5/26/2003 10:46 PM

Unfortunately, if you form a corporation with only yourself, a good lawyer can penetrate it by claiming that the corporation is nothing but your ALTER EGO and therefore not capable of legal protection, too.

Fact is, anytime there is money to be had and some reasonable chance of success, there will *always* be a legal battle to penetrate the corporation or LLC to get at the personal assets of owners. It's the nature of the beast. It's been done for all kinds of things, the LLC just being the latest. A family life insurance company or obscure LLP may offer better chances. But there is NO way to get absolute boundaries on liability.

I suggest you read Adkisson's web page on asset protection, then give a read to howtobeinvisible.com as well.

I prefer the LLC. Did it myself, one member. It's ... um... a little difficult to find.

R.G.

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