Legal-Ease: Value of LLC documents beyond state filings

Lee R. Schroeder is an Ohio licensed attorney with Schroeder Law LLC in Ottawa. He limits his practice to business, real estate, estate planning and agriculture issues in northwest Ohio. He can be reached at lee@leeschroeder.com or at (419) 523-5523. This article is not intended to serve as legal advice, and specific advice should be sought from the licensed attorney of your choice based upon the specific facts and circumstances that you face.

An LLC can be a straightforward way for a group of people to collectively benefit from certain legal protections. Filing with the state of Ohio can be done without an attorney and is not complicated. But many specific instances are not covered by the basics, and must be established in a document called an “operating agreement.”

The members of an LLC do not have to have an operating agreement, but it is highly beneficial in helping determine all sorts of scenarios, such as decision making within the LLC and transferring shares between members. A good operating agreement should include five main components.

Almost anyone can establish an LLC without an attorney. LLCs can be organized by completing and filing a three-page form with the Ohio Secretary of State and paying a $99 filing fee. The form to be filed is comprised of components that are collectively called “articles.”

Upon filing the articles with the Secretary of State, Ohio law gives the LLC and its owners (called members) a short list of basic legal protections, if the members and the LLC follow certain specific procedures in managing the LLC.

Read more about the benefits of an LLC with an operating agreement in Lee’s article in the Lima News, Legal-Ease: Value of LLC documents beyond state filings

Source: LimaOhio.com, Legal-Ease: Value of LLC documents beyond state filings by Lee R. Schroeder, October 29, 2016

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