Choosing a business formElegir la forma societaria
Four friends open a climbing gym in Texas. Three will work there full time; one only invests. They want limited liability for everyone, a single level of tax, and the freedom to let the three workers manage while the investor keeps veto rights over big decisions. Which form fits best?
The LLC gives limited liability to all members, pass-through tax by default, and an operating agreement that can mix active managers with a passive investor's vetoes.La LLC da responsabilidad limitada a todos, transparencia fiscal por defecto y un operating agreement que combina gerentes activos con vetos del inversionista pasivo.
Class slides, ch. 2; course handout on choosing an entity
Which business form comes into existence with no filing at all?
Two or more persons carrying on a business for profit as co-owners are partners whether or not they intended it. That is why people stumble into unlimited liability.Dos o más personas que explotan un negocio con fines de lucro como codueños son socios aunque no lo pretendieran. Por eso la gente cae sin querer en la responsabilidad ilimitada.
RUPA § 202
Two investors sign a detailed limited partnership agreement naming one of them the limited partner, but nobody files anything with the Secretary of State. A supplier sues both for an unpaid invoice. Result?
Limited liability is a privilege the state grants on filing. Skip the filing and the default form, the general partnership, governs.La responsabilidad limitada es un privilegio que el estado otorga al registrar. Sin registro rige la forma por defecto: la general partnership.
Class slides, ch. 2 (limited partnerships)
A limited partner serves as vice president of the corporation that acts as general partner of the limited partnership and votes on whether to sell the business. Has she lost her limited liability?
The control rule punishes limited partners who run the business, not those who act through the corporate general partner or vote on fundamental matters.La regla de control castiga al comanditario que administra, no al que actúa a través del GP corporativo o vota asuntos fundamentales.
TBOC §§ 153.102–153.103
A Mexican investor living in Monterrey wants to be a 30% shareholder of a Texas corporation that elects S status to avoid double taxation. Problem?
Subchapter S is a tax status with strict eligibility limits: at most 100 shareholders, only U.S. individuals (and some trusts), one class of stock. Foreign owners usually push the choice toward an LLC.El subcapítulo S es un estatus fiscal con límites estrictos: máximo 100 accionistas, solo personas físicas estadounidenses (y algunos fideicomisos), una sola clase de acciones. Los dueños extranjeros suelen inclinar la elección hacia la LLC.
I.R.C. § 1361(b)
A partner in a three-person general partnership sells her entire interest to her cousin without asking the others. What does the cousin get?
The transferee of a partnership interest is a money-only participant. Becoming a partner, with its unlimited liability for the others, takes everyone's consent unless the agreement says otherwise.El cesionario de una parte social solo recibe dinero. Ser socio, con responsabilidad ilimitada para los demás, exige el consentimiento de todos salvo pacto distinto.
RUPA §§ 401, 503
A law firm is a registered LLP. Which of these claims can still reach a partner's personal assets?
The LLP shield covers the firm's obligations, not a partner's own negligence or the misconduct of people under her supervision; many states also require insurance or an escrow for exactly these claims.El escudo de la LLP cubre las obligaciones de la firma, no la negligencia propia del socio ni la falta de quienes supervisa; muchos estados exigen además seguro o depósito para esos reclamos.
TBOC § 152.801
A C corporation's profits are taxed at the entity level and taxed again when paid to shareholders as ; this pattern is called .
Reasonable salaries, which are deductible, are the usual way owner-managers soften it.Los sueldos razonables, que son deducibles, son la forma usual de suavizarla para los dueños-administradores.
Which fact most strongly pushes a startup toward a corporation rather than an LLC?
Investors and public markets expect a corporation with stock, a board and familiar governance; the LLC's flexibility is a drawback there.Los inversionistas y los mercados públicos esperan una corporation con acciones, consejo y gobierno conocido; la flexibilidad de la LLC estorba ahí.
Course handout on choosing an entity (long-term goals and exit)
Name four events a buy-sell agreement should treat as triggers for a forced purchase of an owner's interest.
AnswerRespuesta: Death, disability, divorce (especially in a community-property state), retirement or withdrawal, termination of employment, bankruptcy of an owner, and deadlock.
- death
- disability
- divorce
- withdrawal or termination of employment
- bankruptcy
- deadlock
Two developers pool money and effort to buy, renovate and resell a single building, then go their separate ways. Which rules govern their relationship?
A joint venture is a partnership with a short life span; mutual agency, unlimited liability and pass-through tax all apply.Un joint venture es una partnership de vida corta; aplican la agencia mutua, la responsabilidad ilimitada y la transparencia fiscal.
Class slides, ch. 2