Incorporation in California

Find the right Business Incorporation attorney in Alameda, CA

California law allows a business to incorporate and be identified as its own legal entity. As a separate entity from the owners, the business is then considered to be operating on its own when it buys and sells property, assents to contracts and exercises legal rights. A business looking to incorporate in California must file with the Secretary of State in accordance with established guidelines.

Benefits of Incorporation in California

There are distinct advantages to incorporating a business. Most importantly, liabilities the business accrues may be satisfied only by assets that the owners have specifically invested in it. With unincorporated businesses, personal property of owners can be liquidated in order to fulfill the liabilities of the business. Furthermore, banks in the Alameda area prefer to evaluate the credit worthiness of a business as a whole rather than that of individual owners. This makes the process of getting corporate loans simpler. Lastly, ownership of a corporation is divided into equal portions or "shares" of stock, which may be bought and sold much more easily than the ownership of an unincorporated business.

Costs of Incorporation

Along with a possible fee to apply for incorporation in California, there are other costs that corporations incur. The most important is that a corporation is taxed as its own entity. In other words, the profits a corporation makes are now taxed separately, while any disbursements to shareholders are taxed as individual income. This is called double taxation. However, a business might avoid this disadvantage with proper planning and assistance from a local Alameda lawyer.

Talk to a Business Law Attorney now!

Life in Alameda

Alameda, California is a city in Alameda County. Its population is currently about 80,000 people. It is located in the Eastern portion of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Alameda, California is located on two islands: Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, in the San Francisco bay. Alameda, California is popular with wind surfers, thanks to its proximity to the San Francisco Bay, and the presence of a fairly large public beach in town, which, besides being a good site for wind surfing, provides beautiful views of the San Francisco skyline and the Bay Bridge.

Until 1997, Naval Air Station Alameda was one of the driving forces in the local economy. But it was closed in 1997, during a wave of military cutbacks and base closures that occurred at the end of the Cold War. Nowadays, Alameda, California is a major regional center for wine and spirit production. The alcohol industry is heavily regulated, so these wineries and distilleries hire a large number of Alameda, California attorneys.

If you need to find a lawyer in Alameda, California, you're in luck. There are many well-qualified and experienced attorneys in Alameda, California, who can help you with just about any legal issue you're likely to face.

Clients Rate LegalMatch Attorneys
(click to read reviews)

Howard B.
Howard B.

Business - Litigation

Rye Brook, NY

Mark B.
Mark B.

Business - Litigation

Roseland, NJ

David A.
David A.

Business - Litigation

Walnut Creek, CA