How to become a corporation

A corporation is a legal entity that is separate and distinct from its owners. 1 Corporations enjoy most of the rights and responsibilities that individuals possess: they can enter contracts, loan and borrow money, sue and be sued, hire employees, own assets, and pay taxes. Some refer to it as a “legal person.”

The purpose of a corporation is to conduct a lawful, ethical, profitable and sustainable business in order to create value over the long-term, which requires consideration of the stakeholders that are critical to its success (shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, creditors and communities), as determined by …

1. Hire a transactional attorney who can walk you through the business formation process.
2. Appoint a registered agent and file the articles of incorporation.
3. Create the corporate bylaws and appoint directors.
4. Issue stock.
5. File any other necessary documents with your local secretary of state.
6. File any necessary IRS forms.

In addition to the three commonly adopted forms of business organization—sole proprietorship, partnership, and regular corporations—some business owners select other forms of organization to meet their particular needs. We’ll look at several of these options: Limited liability companies. Cooperatives.

An illegal business is one that breaks the laws of the nation or region in which it operates, and the laws that govern business activity vary greatly from nation to nation. Perhaps the most widespread forms of illegal businesses are those that relate to the sale of prohibited goods or services.

The Limited Company is the most common legal form in use for running a business. Companies are ‘incorporated’ to form an entity with a separate legal personality. This means that the organisation can do business and enter into contracts in its own name.

3. A corporation has an unlimited life; that is, corporations don’t die or expire unless a) the shareholders decide to intentionally dissolve the corporation or b) a corporation is unable to pay its debts and is forced into bankruptcy. Shareholders have limited liability.

Dissolution of a Corporation is the termination of a corporation, either a) voluntarily by resolution, paying debts, distributing assets, and filing dissolution documents with the Secretary of State; or b) by state suspension for not paying corporate taxes or some other action of the government.

Sole Proprietorship It is the simplest form of business organization. Proprietorships have no existence apart from the owners.