• There are many good reasons to form an LLC, but there are good and bad ways of doing so.young lawyer image by Alexey Stiop from Fotolia.com
  
  A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a popular choice when it comes to forming a new business. An LLC provides a large amount of legal protection from lawsuits and separates personal assets from business assets, as well as business liability from personal liability. But even with LLCs there are different ways of forming the business. The choices made early can make a big difference down the line.
  
  

Best States

• No matter what state a person lives in, a corporation is considered a legal entity and so can be "officially" housed in another state. State laws on business vary, but the three states famous for having little to no taxes imposed on corporate businesses are Delaware, Nevada and Florida. The tax laws of these states often makes it in a person's best interest to spend a little extra money (often as a nominal annual fee) to be officially registered out of these states as opposed to a home state. Individuals from these three states will definitely want their LLCs based there.
  
  

Use a Lawyer

• The paperwork required to file an LLC is not difficult and there are many people who choose to save some money by filing their own paperwork. While this is possible and completely legal, it's worth the extra cost to use a lawyer. Not only should preparing an LLC be cheap, but the lawyer's office you use can also be the address used for the state to send legal notices. This will help keep your legal representation up-to-date with what needs to be done with the business. A lawyer will also write up a better business plan and articles or organization than a person with no legal training.
  
  

Clearly Name a Manager

• One of the most important aspects of any LLC, especially one serving as a partnership, is to clearly name one person as a manager. A bad Articles of Organization can make arguments into business killers, whereas a well-written Articles that clearly names who is in charge or who has a 51% ownership stake will make sure that disputes are easier to resolve when a disagreement comes up. This is also legal protection for an individual in the company and makes clear up-front exactly how the business is going to work.