Could anyone direct me to any website that can process LLC formation? Especially in IL.
The cheaper the better.
THanks!
www.legalzoom.com is pretty good. I have not used theri LLC package, but have done some other things with them and been very happy
Online services are fine for filing documents with the state. Unfortunately, the LLC documents they provide will not survive a court challenge. Cheap LLCs are actually the most expensive because they increase costs and provide no benefits.
an LLC is an LLC is an LLC. But the operating agreement needs to come from an atty who knows your state’s laws and your specific circumstances.
Don’t pay more than $250 for an LLC (plus state fees).
Jeffrey Taylor, “Mr. Landlord”, who might have almost 
as much knowledge and experience as even you have, says that he uses LLCs to own and operate his rentals, and that he is, accordig to his business cards, merely an “Assistant Property Manager”.
FYI, it’s not a simple or quick process, and far from a simple or “given” one to penetrate or pierce an LLC that owns a property.
First, the Plaintiff would have to sue the LLC and obtain a final judgment vs. that LLC.
THEN (and not before), that winning Judgment holding Plaintiff would have to do some comprehensive post-Judgment discovery in order to learn anything more than the Sec. of Stat’s office couldn’t tell him (in the state where the LLC is formed and registered).
So it’d take a good while and some goodly amount of expense before you were unearthed as having anything to do with that LLC.
uhm…no. the plaintiff would look for whoever signed the lease (provided by the paintiff with little work on the part of the atty) as manager, asst manager or whatever. presumably that individual is the one who didn’t repair the loose board that their client tripped on and broke their neck.
that individual is going to be sued regardless of whether he’s working for an LLC or not. he was managing the property. he was negligent.
and thus, the primary reason for the entity - asset protection - is broken down. individuals are guilty of negligence; entities are not.
an individual who is personally managing properties, as opposed to an uninvolved investor/owner, is still at risk from his individual actions.
Entities are mostly pierced because of the failure to maintain formalities. The most common ones are commingling funds, no bylaws/operating agreement, no meeting minutes, and no resolutions for major decision. If problems arise, documents are back-dated, which does more harm than good. Most DIY people fall into this category. They assume they have protection because they filed some paperwork with the state. Nothing is further from the truth.
Someone at Jeffrey Taylor’s level has adequate legal counsel to ensure he is doing everything correctly. He also uses property managers and limits his involvement to low risk activities. LLCs are a good fit for him. Newbies lack the resources to hire work or hire decent counsel.
Hi Mark,
I am in the process of finalizing the operating agreement for my LLC. It is an operating agreement that I got from attorney Darius M. Barazandeh in Texas. Although I am confident it is a good operating agreement, would you mind looking over it if email it to you?
Thank you.
I’ll look at it, but I’m not an atty. ask BLL.
Generally speaking, I don’t like operating agreements that allow the members and managers to be the same group of people or do not require members to support the LLC. I also have a low opinion of agreements that do not indemnify managers (depends on the state). These are all signs that the attorney who drafted the agreement does not have a solid grasp of the issues involved.
An LLC is not ordered like a hamburger. It is planned like surgery. It requires years of practice and studying to achieve competency. Every aspect is considered before anything is done. All actions are based solely on the individual, not some general principal. That is the main reason online LLCs and DIY kits offer limited value and/or fail when challenged. They are not customized to the individual.