Form an Limited Liability Company (LLC) in Arizona
Starting a business and watching it grow can be an exciting and rewarding experience. It is important that a business is incorporated properly in order to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of business ownership. There are a variety of business entities, including sole proprietorships, general partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations.
What are the Benefits of an LLC?
A very popular business entity is the LLC. “LLC” stands for limited liability company. In Arizona, the use of LLC’s is governed under the Arizona Limited Liability Company Act listed in A.R.S. 29-601.
An LLC is a type of business entity endorsed by the state that has certain specific attributes. Although only an Arizona attorney can tell you what business entity is best for your business, there are a few general reasons why a business might choose to become an Arizona LLC.
One benefit of the LLC is that, as the name suggests, it provides limited liability for its members. If the business is a sole proprietorship (SP) or a general partnership (GP), the owner of the business is viewed as the business itself, meaning that any obligations the business takes on or incurs will become the obligations of the individual owner(s). However, with an LLC Arizona law provides that in general a member, manager, employee, officer, or agent of the LLC is not liable, solely by reason of being a member, manager, employee, officer, or agent, for the debts obligations and liabilities of the limited liability company, whether those debts arise in contract or tort, under a judgment, decree or order of a court, or otherwise. This protection can be very important.
In an Arizona LLC the owners are called members and in most cases can include individuals, corporations, and other LLC’s. Another benefit often cited about LLC’s is that they allow for some tax benefits. You should consult an Arizona attorney who can tell you what business entity will limit your tax liability.
The Arizona Corporation Commission defines the members and managers of an LLC as follows [azcc.gov]:
Members of an LLC are its owners, much like shareholders of a corporation own the corporation. Managers of LLCs are like the board of directors or the officers of a corporation. If a manager is also a member, then the manager may have an ownership interest in the LLC. If the manager is just a manager and is not also a member, then the manager has no ownership interest in the LLC.
If the LLC is member-managed, then the members as a group run the day-to-day operations of the LLC, subject to any operating agreement. Member-managed LLCs where each member has a vote function very similarly to partnerships.
If the LLC is manager-managed, the manager or managers run the day-to-day operations of the LLC instead of the members, subject to any operating agreement. Manager-managed LLCs function more like corporations, where the board of directors and the officers make decisions and the shareholders don’t really participate in day-to-day operations.
A single individual can be the only member and only manager of an LLC, or it may have multiple members and managers.
LLC Business Formation in Arizona
If you have determined that an LLC is the best business entity type for your new business, Arizona Statewide Paralegal can help you with all the paperwork involved in forming your LLC. We have decades of experience offering professional legal document preparation services in Arizona. By using our service you can avoid the expense of a high priced attorney so that you can focus your financial resources on your new business.
The Arizona Corporation Commission is established by Article 15 of the Arizona Constitution. The commission’s scope of responsibility includes regulating public utility companies, regulating and facilitating the incorporation of businesses and organizations, securities regulation, and railroad/pipeline safety.
An LLC is formed or created by submitting Articles of Organization to the Arizona Corporation Commission. The Corporation Commission examines the articles for statutory compliance. It may approve the articles for filing or reject the articles with instructions on how to resubmit the document. Once the articles are approved for filing, the LLC is organized (formed or created).
In order to create your LLC, we will first prepare the Articles of Organization and Arizona Corporation Commission cover sheet. We deliver the signed Articles of Organization and cover sheet to the Arizona Corporation Commission and expedite filing.
We will show you how to obtain an EIN (employer identification number) for the LLC so you can open a bank account for the business.
The LLC formation process includes a publication requirement. We will submit a Notice of Filing to the appropriate newspaper in the county that the LLC is operating in for publication in order to fulfill this requirement. The newspaper will publish the Notice of Filing 1 time per week for 3 weeks.
Once the publication process is complete, we will send the Affidavit of Publication and cover sheet to the Arizona Corporation Commission for filing. At this point, the LLC formation is complete.
In addition to the basic LLC formation paperwork, we also can prepare an Operating Agreement for your business. An operating agreement is an agreement that governs relations among the members and the managers and between the members and managers and the limited liability company.
Arizona Statutory Agent /(Arizona Registered Agent in other states)
Arizona Revised Statute 29-604 states that “A limited liability company shall appoint and continuously maintain in this state: 1. A known place of business that may be the address of its statutory agent. 2. A statutory agent for service of process on the limited liability company that is either an individual resident of this state, a domestic corporation, a limited liability company or a foreign corporation or limited liability company authorized to transact business in this state.”
In other words, an Arizona LLC is required to have a physical address and a Statutory Agent, which is the person that accepts service of process on behalf of the Arizona Limited Liability Company or Arizona Corporation.
AZ Statewide Paralegal is proud to offer Statutory Agent services for those businesses in need of a local Tucson or Phoenix business address and local Tucson or Phoenix Statutory Agent.
Our Arizona Statutory Agent Services include the following:
- A local, established business with a physical address in Phoenix or Tucson
- A business mailing address in Arizona that is the same as the Statutory Agent address
- We accept service of process on behalf of your business and notify the business immediately
- Complimentary access to your secured online account
- Reminders for your mandatory Annual Report due date
- And more
Once your Arizona LLC is up and running, AZ Statewide Paralegal can also assist you with any ongoing filings you may require, such as amendments to your Articles of Incorporation or Articles of Organization or the paperwork required to dissolve or terminate the corporation.
AZ Statewide Paralegal offers professional legal document preparation services. We have decades of experience preparing documents for legal proceedings in Arizona. By using our service you can avoid the expense of a high priced attorney. Contact our office today so that we can walk you through the legal document preparation services we offer.