Incorporation in California

Find the right Business Incorporation attorney in Santa Rosa, CA

California law allows a business to incorporate and be recognized as its own legal entity. After incorporation, buying and selling property, assenting to contracts and exercising legal rights are considered acts of the business itself and not its owners. The office of the Secretary of State is the agency that receives applications for incorporation in California, and they must be completed in conformity with particular guidelines.

Benefits of Incorporation in California

Certain benefits inure to a business in California that has incorporated over one that has not. First, a corporation's liabilities can never go beyond the amount invested in the business by the owners. Without incorporation, the personal property of business owners is at stake should the company become unable to satisfy its debts. A corporation may also find it easier to finance itself through loans, allowing creditors in the Santa Rosa area to evaluate their investment by assessing the corporation rather than the individual credit-worthiness of its owners. Lastly, the ownership stake in a corporation can be apportioned into uniform slices, known as "shares" of stock. This makes it possible to sell ownership investments in more manageable slices.

Costs of Incorporation

Incorporation can be costly. First, a modest filing fee may be charged in California for any business that wants to incorporate. Also, a corporation is taxed as its own entity. Disbursements to the owners of the corporation are also taxed as individual income, so this means earnings may be taxed twice. But this double taxation can be avoided with proper planning and help from a local Santa Rosa lawyer.

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Life in Santa Rosa

Santa Rosa, California is a city in Sonoma County, in the far northern portion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of about 162,000 people, it is the fifth-largest city in the Bay Area.

Santa Rosa's first known permanent settlement came in the 1830s, and it began to grow after California achieved statehood. In 1867, Sonoma County officially incorporated it as a city. The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake essentially destroyed the downtown area of Santa Rosa. In addition to destroying much of San Francisco, that earthquake heavily damaged almost every other city in the Bay Area.

Modernly, Santa Rosa is known for the natural beauty just outside the city, in the form of rolling hills and miles of undisturbed wilderness. Santa Rosa, and the rest of Sonoma County is internationally renowned as a wine-making region, with scores of vineyards and wineries nearby.

If you live in Santa Rosa, California and need an attorney, the chances are good that you'll be able to find one. The thriving and diverse economy of the Bay Area, and Santa Rosa's status as one of the outlying population centers of that area, ensure that Santa Rosa, California lawyers are very sophisticated and well rounded. If you have any type of legal problem, and need help with it, a Santa Rosa, California lawyer is the person to call.

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