Formation of Corporations

Full Circle Business Law assists with all aspects of corporate formation, from entity selection to filing to preparing for ongoing legal compliance. We take the time to consider your specific needs and develop cost-effective strategies to achieve your objectives.

Overview of Common For-Profit Corporation Types

The most common legal structure for a corporation is a general stock corporation. For-profit corporations organized in California can elect to be taxed by the IRS as “C” corporations or “S” corporations, based on their eligibility.

Some companies with a strong social mission prefer to form a benefit corporation—not to be confused with Certified B Corporations, which is not a distinct legal structure. Instead of focusing solely on profit as a traditional corporation does, a benefit corporation sets a public interest goal as a meaningful priority.

Others include, but are not limited to, social benefit corporations, mutual benefit corporations, and statutory close corporations.

Common Traits of All Corporations

Businesses incorporate primarily to insulate their owners (shareholders) from personal liability for the corporation’s business debts and liabilities. A corporation is a separate legal entity from its owners and typically bears all responsibility for corporate debts with some exceptions—at least, when it has been set up and maintained properly.

In most types of corporations, shareholders own the corporation and the corporation itself owns the underlying business assets. Shareholders elect a board of directors who oversee operation of the corporation, with daily management responsibilities assigned to officers elected by the board (President/CEO, Treasurer/CFO, and Secretary).

Let Full Circle Business Law Manage the Corporate Formation Process for Your Business

When you allow the experienced attorneys at Full Circle Business Law to guide you through the entity selection process and form your corporation, you have more time to focus on moving your business forward. Contact us today to learn more about the custom assistance we can provide.