Limited Liability Companies For Dummies®, 3rd Edition
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Copyright © 2019 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2019944085
ISBN 978-1-119-60218-7 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-119-60212-5 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-60219-4 (ebk)
Individuals are now, more than ever, realizing the power of the limited liability company (LLC). If you’re like many people, you probably understand that an LLC can benefit you in one way or another; you just don’t know the next steps to take. Maybe you’ve just purchased a piece of real estate and know that it should be protected in some way; you just don’t know how to form the LLC and do the transfer. Or, on a whim, you created an LLC for your current business and can’t get any answers on what to do now. How do you transfer assets? What do you do at tax time? How can you take on a partner?
You now hold in your hands the key to some of the most powerful strategies of the rich and successful. This book was written to make your life easier and eliminate the guesswork on forming and owning an LLC. After all, your LLC should work for you, not the other way around.
After I get into the basics on LLCs in this book, I go into some more-complex strategies. This info sets this book apart from all the others. The rich have used a lot of these strategies for decades to operate their businesses, protect their assets, and pass on their estates. Now, I’m putting the power in your hands. When you find a strategy that may work for you, I encourage you to sit down with your team (your attorney, accountant, and/or corporate consultant) and figure out how to build on it and how to customize it to your specific situation. Use this book as your starting point. Your possibilities are endless, and your asset protection and tax strategies should grow along with you.
Now get going on your journey to success and don’t look back!
Although this book was written in an easy-to-understand, concise manner, I didn’t limit this book to the basics. You’ll find that a lot of other books on LLCs just skim over things, filling their pages with forms and legal statutes. They often just cover the basics of filing your articles and creating your operating agreement without delving into the more powerful uses of LLCs or the strategies that LLCs can be integrated with. Instead, I crammed these pages with valuable information that you’d be hard-pressed to find in other books.
Even though this is a For Dummies book, you’re no idiot. You don’t want to be put to sleep while reading a jargon-laden book on complex strategies that even most attorneys can’t understand. You want something that dives deep but keeps it simple, and that’s what I strive to give you — well-organized, easy-to-read, and fluff-free information.
I know, I know — you’re busy! You operate on a need-to-know basis and the rest is just gibberish. Therefore, to speed things up a little, feel free to ignore anything with a Technical Stuff icon next to it. The information in those paragraphs isn’t really necessary to understand the topic. Also, the sidebars are fun, but they’re sort of a bonus for those who aren’t time-impaired. Feel free to skip those too.
I use a few conventions in this book. They’re pretty intuitive and easy to understand, but here’s a rundown anyway.
In order for this book to cater to a broad audience, I needed to make some foolish assumptions about you, the reader, and your skill level. After all, it’s not Limited Liability Companies For Attorneys or Limited Liability Companies For Real Estate Investors. It’s Limited Liability Companies For Dummies — in other words, “everyone”. Let’s see if any of these shoes fit:
If any of the above assumptions fits your profile, then this book was written especially for you!
In this book, I use little pictures, called icons, to highlight important information. When you see these, make sure to pay close attention — otherwise, you may miss some really good info!
One of the great things about LLCs is how much you can do with them! Unfortunately, if I were to write everything one could possibly know, this book would rival the length of War and Peace. So, in an effort to save some trees, this book you’re reading right now comes with digital perks!
First, I have created a password-protected online resource center made specifically for For Dummies readers. Every place where I mention state laws throughout the book, I will refer you to this online resource center for more information specific to your state. You can access this information anywhere and you can also be sure that it’s up-to-date. The online resource center can be found at www.docrun.com/dummies
and the password is onesmartdummy.
Want more information on things like estate planning with LLCs and LLC tax distributions? Well, look no further than the Limited Liability Companies For Dummies page at www.dummies.com/extras/limitedliabilitycompanies
. Here, you can find extra articles and information on topics covered in this book.
And last but not least, make sure to check out the free eCheat Sheet at www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/limitedliabilitycompanies
. This will tell you all you need to know about naming your LLC, help you understand the different tax types, and get clear on more of the benefits of LLCs.
One of the many great things about a For Dummies book is that you don’t have to read it from cover to cover to get to what you need to know. This book was designed to be jumped into, with each chapter standing on its own. Find a topic that interests you and start there! After all, why waste time reading mundane topics that you already know when you can immediately get to the good stuff?
If you’re a complete novice and are just dipping your toes into the whole LLC concept, you may want to read Chapters 2 and 3, and then skip to whatever topic interests you most. If you have already formed your LLC and are looking for the next step, you may want to skip to Chapters 9, 10, and 11 to find out how to create or revise your operating agreement. Only interested in the use of LLCs for real estate? Skip to Chapter 18. Ready to dissolve your LLC? Feel free to flip to Chapter 16.
Or, you can read the book cover to cover if you want. You get a lot of juicy info out of every chapter!
Part 1
IN THIS PART …
Understand what LLCs are and what they’re used for.
Discover the many types of LLCs and the pros and cons of choosing each one.
Compare LLCs to other types of business structures so you can determine if an LLC is right for you and your business.