Partnerships and Corporations - Introduction Flashcards
What are the different ways of doing business?
Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Limited Liability Company (LLC), and Corporation
What are the two types of persons?
Natural persons- regular humans
Persons- legal entities
What is a legal entity?
is an organization the law recognizes as having its own existence that is separated from the humans behind it
What are the pros of a sole proprietorship?
one of the easiest businesses form of enterprise to create
it has the least amount of gov regulations in terms of getting advanced permissions or filings with any other gov agency
What is the meaning behind sole proprietorship?
Sole - one person but includes the concept of a legal entity. can be one human or one legal entity
Who does the law give SEPARATE LEGAL recognition to?
Marriage
a registered domestic partnership
Can a husband and wife form a business as sole proprietors?
Yes
Can a father and daughter go into business together as a sole proprietorship and why?
No, because the law does not recognize their relationship as a separate legal existence. The father would most likely be the owner
What is the most common form of partnership?
General Partnership
What is a general partnership?
It is a voluntary association of two or more persons to do business as co-owners, with the intention of making a profit
Can there be a non-profit partnership?
no
Why are general partnerships less popular?
They do not have a shield of liability
What is an exemption of general partnerships not having a shield of liability
another couple of businesses may have their own shield of liability
Where would the debts go if it was a corporation in a partnership?
Since the corporation has a shield of liability, the debts of the partnerships would go back to the corporation but not the natural person who owns the corporation
Who can create a partnership?
two or more persons/natural persons. Natural persons can be parties to a marriage, registered domestic partnership
What is community property?
property that belongs to both partners of a relationship
The law states that a couple in “commune” or marriage acquire rights on each other’s assets and liabilities, the assets which they hold together
If married individuals or registered domestic couples engage in a general partnership, what rule do they disregard?
the rule of community property
what happens if a general partnership breaks up between married individuals?
the distribution of assets and the dealing of the business are going to be rules that relate to the law of partnerships, NOT community property
How can partnerships be created?
In writing ( recommended)
orally (creates problems but still perfectly legal)
however, some aspects of agreements and partnerships have to be in writing to be enforced
What is the Statue of Frauds?
it is the important aspects of the nature of the partnerships
legal concept that requires certain types of contracts to be executed in writing
What are professional general partnerships?
they are formed by people that are licensed professionals such as doctors and lawyers
What is a limited partnership?
- circumstance where you can recognize it as an investment
- some people who are merely investors (limited partners)
Who are limited partners
investors. they expect and hope to get a return on their investments.
they are not engaged in any type of management
Who are the two categories of individuals involved in a limited partnership?
limited partners - investors
general person/partner - manages the business
What do limited partners have?
Shield of liability as long as they DO NOT ENGAGE in the management of the business
What do limited partnerships do not have?
pass through taxation
What does a general partner in a limited partnership not have?
shield of liability
What happens if a limited partnership collapses?
they lost their investment, but not their personal assets. investors are protected
What is the most popular form of business today/ most popular to start out with?
Limited liability company LLC
What is a LLC also referred to?
as an incorporated partnership (they are not partnerships though)
What is the management structure of a LLC?
similar to a general partnership.
not a limited partnership where there are investment vehicles
What are the benefits of LLC?
People who are engaged and the owners have a shield of liability
easy to form, works as a general partnership
they have an opportunity to be taxed as a corporation if they wanted to
what is a pass through taxation?
refers to the fact that a pass-through business pays no taxes. Instead, some control person pays the business’s taxes through that person’s own personal tax return.
Does a LLC have a pass through taxation?
yes
How can a LLC being taxed as a corporation be beneficial?
The corporate tax rate has been reduced so they would be paying less
when can a LLC choose to be tax as a corporation?
when they generate high enough money
What are the characteristics of a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
liked an incorporated partnership
distinct limitation as to what professionals can engage in a LLP
great variance across the country as to which professional can operate as a LLP
Limited partnership is what we call
statutory creations
what is a statutory creation?
rules and statues stored in statutory law
limited liability companies as statutory creations
created by statue about where they were created.
there are 50 varieties of limited liability statutes
What did people pick before LLC and why?
Corporations because of the shield of liability
so people who invested were owners of the corporations and did not have to worry about loss of personal assets