As an Atlanta, Georgia Corporate Attorney, advising CEOs, CFOs, Secretary, Directors, Officers, Shareholders, it is critical you avoid mingling your personal affairs with any business matters, and vice versa. Many new business owners seek to protect themselves from personal liability by setting up corporations, the most popular being Limited Liability Company (or LLC). Regardless, a corporation can only protect you from personal liability stemming from your corporations liability, to the extent, you take care to separate your role in the corporation from your role as an individual.
Generally, the fist step in protecting yourself from debts and liabilities incurred by your corporation is incorporating your corporation (or business). In Georgia, filing the appropriate documents with the Georgia Secretary of State and creating a Limited Liability Company (or LLC) or a Corporation, can provide protection from personal liability. However, taking this action will not give you absolute protection from liability. Additional steps in your behavior, statements, and actions are critical in protecting yourself from being personally liable for debts of the corporation. When you are held liable for debts of the corporation because the company and your personal affairs are to tightly interwoven, is called Piercing the Corporate Veil.
Piercing the Corporate Veil occurs when opposing counsel (or another party) can show that the CEOs, CFOs, Secretary, Directors, Officers, Shareholders, etc. are mingling corporate their affairs with their individual affairs. Doing this is a huge mistake and you should avoid it at all cost no matter what inconvenience it may cause you or what your personal view of the Georgia law on Piercing the Corporate Veil encompasses.
Under what circumstances can I be personally liable for debts of the LLC, or corporation? And, why should I take additional steps for protection?
As a Corporate Lawyer in Atlanta, Georgia, I know from seeing Piercing the Corporate Veil legal proceedings first-hand that taking additional precautions can prevent creditors from going after your personal assets – such as your money or your home – in the event your business incurs debts that it is unable to pay. These debts can include car loans, bank loans, lease obligations, and money owed to lawyers, accountants, etc., for services rendered to the business.
These extra precautions can also prevent plaintiffs from collecting money from your personal accounts and assets to satisfy a judgment against you. A Georgia business could incur this type of liability in a variety of ways, including:
• A personal injury or accident in your office––coffee burn, slip and fall, etc.
• A product or service that injures a client, either physically or financially
• A car accident that occurs when an employee is making a delivery or driving to meet a client in the scope of work.
• Mismanagement of a client’s money
So what are some extra precautions you must take take?
• Georgia law requires corporate entities to file for renewal every year. This is a quick, relatively low-cost ($50.00 annual fee) process that keeps your corporation or LLC active. If you do not renew your business, the Georgia Secretary of State will administratively dissolve your corporation and, therefore, your protection from personal liability.
• Keep your corporate and personal bank accounts separate. Do not use your business account to pay for personal expenses – taking your family out to dinner with business funds, buying presents for your in-laws with corporate monies, paying for a weekend getaway “on the corporations’ tab”, etc.
• Do not personally guarantee any loans or financial arrangements for the corporation if you can avoid doing so. Acting as a personal guarantor opens the door to personal liability, as creditors can look to you to pay the business’s debts.
• Make sure that all of your contracts entered into using your corporate position and then your name in this capacity (i.e. as President, etc.) Do not use your individual name, even if you are the sole shareholder. For Example:
___________________________ Signed, Larry J. Doe, President ABC Enterprises of Atlanta, LLC
• Maintain the proper insurance for your business and make sure that the corporation’s name is listed as the “name insured” on the insurance policy. Your Atlanta, Georgia, Corporate Insurance Attorney should be able to help you with this process. Additionally, keep written records of discussions and of how the insurance agents, lawyers, CPAs, advised you to ensure your business is safe or you want to compare it to another opinion at a different time. A personal umbrella policy might also provide additional personal protection for business owners.
To learn more about how the Atlanta and North Georgia Corporate Attorneys at The Libby Law Firm will protect, promote, and fiercely fight for your best interests and benefits for your family and business. Contact our Atlanta Office set up a meeting with your attorney today. You should contact us immediately to come in for a consultation and to proceed with becoming a proficient in protecting your assets. Time is of the essence in legal situations such as these and there is no better time than the present.
The Libby Law Firm Main Office is easily found and conveniently located in Buckhead Section of Atlanta. You can contact our Main Office by calling our (404) 467-8611. You can also use our confidential Contact Us Form.
We have a second office located in Cobb County, Marietta, Georgia. You can reach us at the Cobb County, Marietta, Georgia Law Office by calling (770) 952-1008, or though our Corporate Law Office in Marietta, Georgia, confidential Contact Us Form.
To learn more about how the Fulton County, Atlanta, Georgia, Corporate Business Attorneys at The Libby Law Firm contact our Atlanta office to schedule a consultation. Our Main Office is conveniently located in the Buckhead section of Atlanta, near the intersection of Peachtree and Roswell Roads. There is plenty of free underground parking with security to ensure your safety and ease the stress of the trip to you the Office of your Atlanta, Georgia, Corporate Attorneys. Please refer to the map in blue below to get exact directions to our Main Office.
• Map and Directions to The The Libby Law Firm Atlanta, Georgia, Corporate Lawyer Law Office and Our Marietta, Georgia, Corporate Attorney Law Office