Business Law Palm Beach

A move or change is usually positive or results in something positive in business. As the business owner, you decided to change location or expand to a different one. Whether your business is big or small or whether it is sales or service related you still want to consult with your business lawyers on transport liabilities, storage of assets, and a review of your new lease before you sign it. This addresses what you should know before moving your business. What should I do before I sign a new business lease A lease is one of the more significant documents that any business owner will sign. A good time to have your corporate counsel review the proposed lease is early in the process and before you move in. This usually occurs when you are taking an inventory of physical property. That is the time you are thinking about how to transport your business assets to a new location. As the owner of the business you have a legal and fiduciary duty to act in and for the best interest of the busine...

I f you are thinking about investing in an existing Florida business, you should know that Florida law deems those who participate in business ventures to be sophisticated businesspeople to a certain degree. Therefore, you must do your due diligence before closing the transaction. While the level and amount of due diligence is specific to the particular transaction, at least some due diligence should be undertaken. Is investing in a business a good idea Investing in a going concern may be an alternative to more traditional investments like stock or real estate markets. Any investor should start by requesting to examine the corporate formation and corporate governance documents as well as its books and records. Making an investment in an existing business is different from  buying the complete business  or  starting one anew . Information on those approaches are at the highlighted links. Florida law requires businesses to maintain certain books and records. These can illum...

Any person or existing business can incorporate and own a business in Florida. Florida does not have residency restrictions on the owners, but there must be a registered agent physically in the State for service of process. What is a registered agent and what do they do A registered agent is an agent for service of process on the business. They accept lawsuits and other legal documents for the business. This can be a person or a business. There are various companies that will provide this service for a fee, but any such company hired should have clear methods by which they will quickly notify the business when such documents are served. Using technology, it should be easy for them to scan and e-mail documents. But I have had cases where the registered agent received garnishment writs and did not notify the company for several days during which time the company paid out money for which it was liable because of the writ. In that case, the registered agent had to reimburse the company bec...

It is critical to do your due diligence before buying an existing Florida business or small business in Florida. Florida law deems those who participate in business ventures to be sophisticated businesspeople to a certain degree. While the level and amount of due diligence depends on the particular transaction, you should at least undertake some due diligence before closing. What due diligence should I do The primary goal of business due diligence is to test the veracity of the representations of the seller. The due diligence that you can do before buying a Florida business can include reviews of the internal financial operations, online business health, and verification of assets. Your due diligence may also include, investigating the community where the business operates and customer demographics. In addition to business lawyers, financial professionals like CPAs together with valuation experts and business brokers can provide good assistance and guidance in determining the health of...

Setting up or forming a business in Florida is very easy. Simply go on the Sunbiz website and fill in the information. But determining which corporate entity to choose is a topic to discuss first with a business lawyer. You also discuss the tax implications with your accountant or CPA. What is an S Corp There is no corporate entity called an S Corp. The S Corp is a tax election as compared to a C Corp or other choices like sole proprietor and partnership. It merely denotes how you want your business treated for tax purposes. The S Corp treatment passes the income of the business through the business onto the owner or owners. Thus it is referred to as a pass-thru entity, but it is not a legal entity like the corporation or LLC. What are the legal entities in Florida I can choose for my business There are three recognized business entities in Florida. They are the corporation, the limited liability company, and the partnership. The corporation The corporation is regulated by Chapter 607 ...

Businesses need to protect themselves. One of the easiest methods is through documents by which another party agrees not to improperly use or take information or personnel from the business to compete against it. These documents are non-compete or non-competition agreements, non-solicitation agreements, and non-disclosure agreements and they can provide great benefits to a business in Florida when prepared properly. While these documents may not stop someone from stealing information or persuading key employees to leave, they do place the business in a position to more easily enforce its rights and protect itself. However because they limits free trade there are restrictions that apply to some of those documents therefore they must be prepared by competent counsel to avoid making the situation worse. What is a non-compete, non-disclosure, and non-solicitation agreement Non-competes, non-disclosures or NDAs, and non-solicitation agreements like most contracts are reactive. They will not...

Should you ask your accountant or CPA to draft my legal business documents. In short, no. But equally so you should not have your business lawyer prepare your taxes unless that person is also an accountant or CPA. Occasionally accountants or CPAs try to serve their clients and help them by preparing bylaws for an Inc. or an operating agreement for an LLC or contracts. But those people lack the experience and training of skilled business attorneys and their good intentions often make matters worse. What can I do if my accountant drafted my legal business documents I have had several clients over the years tell me that their accountant drafted their business legal documents more often as a favor. When accountants or CPAs prepare those papers, you cannot ask them to fix those because they lack the ability and training to do so. Accountants and CPAs have special training and experience in financial matters and taxes, not in business law. How you  avoid legal problems  is by seekin...