Entity Formation & Maintenance

Create Your Dream

Our Comprehensive Approach

Forming your business entity at Liz Smith Law is not one size fits all and is never handled in a vacuum.  If you wanted one size fits all, you could use a document drafting service or online legal document website.

Before we form your entity, we get to know you, what’s important to you, what your business is going to do in the world and how you plan to exit it.  We ask you questions that will inform us of the tax structure of your entity, how you own the entity and what happens to your business entity when you pass on (or you pass the company on to a new owner).

We ask you the questions so you do not worry that you don’t know the right questions to ask. And then we discuss your options with you in a way that allows you to know you are making informed decisions about:

• Where to form your entity (Nevada, Delaware, Wyoming or your own home state are all options);

• What type of entity to form (LLC, S-Corporation, LLC taxed as an S-Corporation, Partnership, or C-Corporation are the most likely options we will consider);

• How to set up your bank accounts, what type of insurance to get, which agreements you need immediately (and which can wait), which intellectual property to protect (and whether to own it in a separate entity from your operating assets), how much and what type of insurance you need, how to work with your CPA for max tax savings and more.

We see the formation of your business entity as just the beginning of a long-term relationship in which we are able to become the trusted counselor you turn to for help with all of your business decisions.

Proper Planning Isn’t Reserved Just for Warren Buffett

Think about it this way – Warren Buffett doesn’t just turn to Charlie Munger (his personal business lawyer) for help incorporating his business entities, he turns to Charlie before entering into any business deal that will impact the bottom line.  

That’s the type of relationship we have with our clients.

Maintaining Your Business Entity – Compliance & So Much More

We don’t really like the word compliance because it seems to suggest that we are going to restrict you in some way — but, it’s just the opposite…

Maintaining your business entity is about the “nutrients” of a business that is well cared for.

Through our membership programs, we take care of all the little details, so you can stay creative and expansive.

At most business planning law firms the relationship ends when you sign your incorporation documents.  

At Liz Smith Law we see the signing your incorporation documents as the beginning of our relationship with your business.

Over time, your business will change and grow; your ownership structure may change; we know for sure that the law will change.  

Your business documents must accommodate all of these changes in order to make sure your business is on track for growth and continued success.

If your business does not have annual meetings, maintain meeting minutes, have agreements, and is not properly updated and maintained over time, your legal documents become worthless — worth no more than the paper they were printed on.

And the costs of failing to update your legal documents regularly are typically far greater than keeping everything current.

To help you make sure your entity is maintained properly, we offer ongoing strategic and tactical support to ensure your business has the continued foundation necessary for growth.

Our membership programs are designed so we can proactively monitor the activities of your business on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis.  

By doing this, we can stay on top of your business’ legal, insurance, financial and tax details so you can relax and be more creative, more expansive and live more into the possibilities for your business knowing everything else is handled.

For more information about our unique programs, schedule your LIFT Your Life and Business Planning Session online 

Schedule Your LIFT Your Life and Business Planning Session Today!

Leaving a Real Legacy – Business Succession Planning

How We Guide You to Leave a Legacy That’s About Much More Than Just Your Money

As an entrepreneur, your legacy may be the most significant issue you think about when it comes to what matters most to you – your family and your work in the world.

After you are gone or in the event of your incapacity, your loved ones, family, business partner, clients, vendors, and others will miss you deeply.  Your business needs to be able to go on to support them.

You will either leave them with a legacy that is meaningful, easy to manage or cash out, and keep supporting them — or you will leave them with a big mess to deal with.

Time and time again, this issue is overlooked by business owners and business lawyers serving their business owner clients.

Not here.

Our Ongoing Conversation

Once your business entity is incorporated and online with agreements, insurance, intellectual property planned for and protected, and financial systems filling the coffers, we shift the conversation away from set up to the all-important exit.

It’s not the first time we will have discussed it as all of our business set ups are planned for based on your eventual exit plan, whether that is selling the business at a certain point, operating it for income as long as desired, or passing your business on upon your death.

We will have an ongoing conversation throughout your life and the life of your business.

We will explore together what can we do today to ensure your business can and will continue to serve you and your clients well whether you are on vacation, taking a health break, or when you pass it on to loved ones after you are gone.

In addition, through our unique legacy process, we will ensure you leave your loved ones a tangible expression of your love for them far beyond your money or even your business. 

Capturing Your Legacy 

Imagine you had a music album-length message from your great grandfather talking about his life during the Great Depression. He is talking about how he made his money, ran his business and the most important lessons he learned along the way.  

Would that be valuable to you and your family today?

Of course it would.  

There’s no more valuable asset that we have than the lessons we have learned.

Most of these lessons are passed down from one generation to the next only inadvertently, not intentionally or consciously at all.  

Imagine the wealth your family would have if lessons could be passed down consciously.

We know that the lessons of the past hold a tremendous amount of value and those who can harness those lessons and build on that foundation. Those who have figured that out are the most prosperous and have the easiest and most enjoyable lives.

Because we want this for your family too, we use a proprietary process for ensuring you pass on these most valuable lessons in the most conscious, direct, and clear way we know how.

If this interests you, please ask us more about it when you come into meet with us for your LIFT Your Life and Business Planning Session.

Schedule Your LIFT Your Life and Business Planning Session Today.

Hiring & Firing

Hiring and firing team members is the single most expensive part of your business, bar none. And most entrepreneurs simply have no idea how to go about it, not just from a legal perspective, but from a how to run your business perspective.

We can help you hire right, train smart and fire when necessary so that you keep as much time and money in your business as possible.

You’ve heard the saying, “hire slow and fire fast”, right?  Well that makes a whole lot of sense when you have the right legal processes for hiring and firing in place.  If you don’t, well this can be a sticky, tricky area.  In fact, hiring and firing could very well be the biggest risk area in your business.

What are some of the risks?

Well there’s a whole lot you need to know about when it comes to how you hire – what you can say and not say, what you can ask and must never ask, how to set up payroll, designate team members as independent contractors or employees, and of course, how to fire.

Hiring and firing team members is your greatest area of risk in your business.  We mitigate that risk.

For a review of your employee handbook, contact us at (907) 312-5436 or support@lizsmithlaw.com for a LIFT Foundation Audit.

How Tax Strategy Saves You Big Bucks

Don’t Get Blindsided

When you structure your tax situation properly, you could be paying less than 10% of your income in taxes. Yes, less than 10%. 

Or, if you plan poorly in this area or neglect to plan at all, you could be paying as much as 50% of your income in taxes.

Strategic planning makes the difference.

Paying more in taxes means so many things you really don’t want:

• You are leaving less for your family, your message, and your legacy.
• You are living on less and limiting what you can invest in your business.
• You are operating in fear because you have no idea what this year’s tax liability will be.
• You are dreading the next meeting with your CPA because they will ask for records you do not have readily available, making the meeting a whole list of to-do’s that you feel you do not have time for.

While we are not tax advisors, this is another one of those areas where with our creative business strategy plans we will support you with by ensuring you are meeting regularly with your CPA, strategizing in advance of tax season, and avoid getting blindsided by a huge tax burden you did not plan for. 

We will even meet personally with you and your CPA on our higher-level business growth membership programs so that you understand the tax strategies that your CPA recommends and so that you are able to easily make decisions about sometimes complex issues.

You can look to us to make saving money on taxes, understand your taxes easily, and most importantly, take action on the advice you receive when it comes to reducing your tax liability. 

Schedule Your LIFT Your Life and Business Planning Session Today!