The purpose of this paper is to create a personal liability exposure matrix then compare and contrast the personal liability exposure of an owner of each type of business (sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, corporation, and limited liability corporation). This paper will also analyze how to limit the personal liability exposure of the owner of five separate business structures. The following five types of business organizational structures are covered; sole proprietorship, general partnership, Limited Partnership (LP), corporation, and Limited Liability Corporation (LLC). In addition, this paper will examine the best business organizational structure for KNG Music Production, a music production company …show more content…
Tinker & Tailor’s Home Security Service, LLC (LLC) Liability: Members of an LLC enjoy limited liability for the debts and obligations of the business, including liability for the unlawful acts of other members and employees.
Sole Proprietorship. In comparison and contrast, the liability exposure associated with the various forms of business organizational structure is important to each business owner; before beginning their business venture. The sole proprietor does not have to ask for anyone’s permission, wait for votes or meetings, or seek others’ approval (Seaquist, 2012). For example, a sole proprietorship offers autonomy and freedom from vicarious liability of co-owners. In a sole proprietorship of the Tinker and Taylor’s Home Security Service, it is difficult to limit one’s liability. In a sole proprietorship the owner of the business is liable for all damages incurred and said owners personal assets are not protected from lawsuit.
The sole proprietor and the business are one in the same with regard to liability. The sole proprietorship is not recognized as a separate entity from its owner; as a consequence, the debts of the business are deemed to be the personal debts of the owner, and the sole proprietor has unlimited personal liability for all the debts, contractual obligations, and legal judgments the business incurs (Seaquist, 2012).However, just as important as the autonomy, the sole proprietorship permits the business owner freedom
| In a sole proprietorship, the business and single owner are one in the same. A single owner makes all decisions with regard to the business and the single owner retains all profits earned by the business. The single owner is also responsible/liable for all debts and obligations of the business on a personal level.
Many believe that liability is a biggest issue in a general partnership than in a sole proprietorship. The owners of the company are still fully liable for any debts the company may accrue as well as the liability for any lawsuits that may be brought against the company. However, the bigger issue in a partnership is that now each partner can be liable for the other partner’s actions. If one partner is sued for malpractice, the other partner may suffer because of it.
B) Managers of LLCs are personally liable for the debts, obligations, and liabilities of the LLC.
2. Why do many entrepreneurs initially set up their businesses as sole proprietorships? Why do many successful entrepreneurs eventually decide to convert their sole proprietorship to some other form
In Task 2, the owner is correct in his need to move away from a sole proprietorship and into an entity where his personal assets will be shielded in the event of a business failure. There seem to be three major ways to remove this liability, which include a C-Corp, S-Corp and LLC. For this situation, I would recommend an LLC for the business owner and will explain why it will benefit him in the issues of liability, continuity, income taxes, profit retention and control.
Sole Proprietorship Sole proprietorship is the most common form of business in the United States. It is a relatively simple way for an individual to start a business since legal costs and business requirements are minimal, and the owner has complete control over the business. Though a sole proprietor is not responsible for any corporate tax payments, the owner is responsible for taxes incurred on the income generated from the business as part of his or her personal income tax payments, and personally shoulders any other risks or obligations. A sole proprietor may also choose to file their business under a fictitious business name or a DBA (doing business as), allowing him or her to operate and market the business under a more typical
Liability- This falls directly on the owner. All debts, liabilities and losses fall on the owner. The owner's assets can be used to alleviate the business's debt.
A sole proprietorship is a form of business that is owned by a single individual. • Liability – Due to the lack of legal distinction between the owner and the business, the owner is fully responsible and liable for all debts that the business incurs in the same manner that an individual is fully responsible and liable for all debts that they incur. There is no legal distinction between the assets of the owner of the sole proprietorship and the business; this means that creditors have the ability to come after the owner’s business and personal material assets. Income Taxes – Since the business is the same as the owner of the sole proprietorship, all profits or losses from the business are filed by the
* An owner has unlimited liability both personally and as the company owner. Liability is a disadvantage in a sole proprietorship.
“Liabilities are debts: money you owe. Every business carries some liabilities—for example, ongoing payments to suppliers, rent for your office, compensation to employees, or fees for contractors” (Mancuso, 2014). Added liabilities may result if a business is ravaged by a fire or flood or if the business owner(s) become the victim of a lawsuit—for example, a patron, client or customer decides to sue your company after hurting themselves on company property. It is the intent of this paper to examine the role and responsibility of liability in different types of businesses from sole proprietorships to
After the creation of a business plan, the next step to operating a business is the selection of an appropriate business structure. Different legal forms of business ownerships affect different managerial and financial factors from the business names to the tax obligations (Gregory, n.d.). The most common forms are sole proprietorship, partnership, cooperatives, and corporations. There are different types of corporations in the business world, but the two most general corporation types are S Corporation and Limited Liability Company (LLC) (Ferrell et al., 2013). The sole proprietorship is the easiest and most basic form of business ownership. It is owned and run by one individual, which is the proprietor. The individual is entitled to all profits and is responsible for all the business’s
Limited liability Company (LLC): Business’ owners are only subject to limited liability for company’s debts and actions. Owners will be only liable for their own mistakes or negligence that they may show in occasions.
The advantages to the sole proprietorship are single control over the business and its decisions, easy to start up, less regulations and paperwork burden that the other types of business. The disadvantages are unlimited liability for their company debts and actions. The law does not recognize any distinctions between the owner’s business assets and personal assets. Banks are very skeptical about lending to these types business because there is only one person to hold liable for repaying the debt.
Is the most common business type, where the business is operated and owned by a single individual. In this type of business, the sole proprietor provides capital, does not share profit or loss and runs the business alone. As such, the business and the owner are indistinguishable for tax and legal purposes (Dlabay, 2011). To differentiate this business from other business types, a sole proprietorship is discussed under the following characteristics.
But with advantages, there are also disadvantages of owning your own business. Five disadvantages of a sole proprietorship are: 1) The owner is personally liable for all debts and incurs all losses. The sole proprietor is responsible for all debts that the company owes. The owner takes all losses. There are no other owners to