Texas Business Planning Attorneys

Selecting the right business entity for your goals has a huge impact on your business’s long-term success, as well as the liability concerns you may face if a lawsuit occurs.

The most effective business entity isn’t necessarily the most expedient option. Our experienced business planning attorneys can help you make the right decision for your goals.

Strategic tax planning can help businesses reduce their tax liability by using the relevant tax laws to their advantage.

Instead of reacting to tax law changes or audits, we can help you proactively plan for growth. We’ll help you protect your assets by identifying potential inefficiencies and savings opportunities and notifying you of any tax compliance concerns.

As a business structure, limited liability companies (LLCs) are relatively new. Created to make forming a limited liability entity easier, LLCs are now one of the most common business structures. Most states have LLC statutes now, but Texas is unique because creating an LLC here is less formal. As a result, they are easier to administer than other entity types.

A limited liability company (LLC) can be an effective choice for structuring your business because an LLC offers valuable liability protection in the face of a lawsuit or collective action.

An LLC also provides many of the advantages of other entity structures, including:

• A straightforward process for amending your business structure
  
• Easier recordkeeping
  
• Tax planning that is more flexible—for example, LLCs can be taxed as an S-corp, C-corp or a sole proprietorship
  
• Tax filings that aren’t as intrusive

At SMC ESQ PLLC, our Texas business planning attorneys can help you determine if an LLC is right for your business plans and goals.

Series limited liability companies (series LLCs) are one of the newest business structures. Series LLCs can hold different assets or companies under the umbrella of a parent LLC.

Although a series LLC functions as if each smaller LLC is a division or subset of the larger LLC, each smaller LLC is legally separate.

Series limited liability companies (series LLCs) provide crucial protections for business owners. When implemented properly, they protect the assets of each LLC from being touched by lawsuits against any of the others.

However, the business formation of a series LLC is complicated. While series LLCs offer the opportunity to save on business formation expenses, they also pose risks.

Currently, only 20 states have statutes for them and there isn’t much case law surrounding their administration. Texas does permit series LLCs, but we strongly recommend retaining legal services if you’re looking to begin this kind of business.

Limited partnerships are an option for business situations where one person intends to run a business in a managerial capacity, but others wish to invest in the business without taking on liability risk.

While the general partner (the person running the business) has more control over decisions, they also have greater liability for the business’s debts. By contrast, the limited partners putting their money into the business won’t have as much control over decisions but will be shielded from some of the business’s liability concerns.

With that in mind, in most cases, a proper entity like a partnership or LLC may be a better choice for forming business entities.

If a limited partnership is involved in a dispute, retaining the legal services of a business planning law firm can be crucial for helping partners make informed decisions and protect their business.

For any entrepreneur considering a joint venture, good contracts are essential.

Robust business contracts provide important protections, clarify rights and responsibilities to limit the likelihood of disputes, and give you peace of mind.

SMC ESQ PLLC can provide knowledgeable legal support for business owners seeking to incorporate a business, as well as support for those who have already incorporated.

We can help you:

• Annual upkeep
  
• Draft strong contracts
  
• Verify that your contracts are legally valid
  
• Ensure that you and other parties are compliant with a contract
  
• Provide legal support for corporate structure issues and concerns
  
• Check investor rights
  
• Assist with sales and acquisitions
  
• And more

In any business endeavor with two or more unrelated partners, it’s important that partners have plans in place for what happens if one person decides to retire, passes on, or gets divorced, resulting in their spouse acquiring a decision-making share of the business.

A buy-sell agreement is a foundational document that helps reduce conflict in times of immense stress and helps you plan for these concerns.

All business owners need to have exit or succession plans in place to preserve what they’ve built. We have this conversation as early as possible in the start-up phase and annual planning meetings.

Whether you hope to see your business run by the next generation or plan to sell your business to a third party, a legal roadmap is essential to ensuring a smooth transition. We work together with the client’s other professionals, such as their CPA and financial advisors, to ensure we have a plan that everyone understands and is on board with.

Our experienced Texas business planning attorneys can help you create a transition plan that fully considers tax liabilities and benefits, as well as the financial results of the overall process.