Business Formation and Planning
Elkhorn Law advises small businesses in the Estes Valley from formation through sale. Many of our business clients are owner-operators (e.g., restaurants, contractors, lodging and retail) for whom the business is also the family’s largest asset, so business planning and estate planning often happen together.
Services
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Business Formation: choosing an entity, filing with the Colorado Secretary of State, and drafting the operating agreement or bylaws which govern the owners’ relationship.
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Business Sale or Purchase: letters of intent, purchase agreements, seller financing and the closing documents for the sale of a business or its assets.
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Business Dissolution: winding up a company, notifying creditors and filing the necessary statements with the state.
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Family Cabin LLC: an LLC formed to hold a shared family property.
Ongoing Counsel
After formation, we prepare the resolutions, amendments and membership changes that a company needs as it grows, and we review leases, vendor contracts and other agreements before they are signed. Note that a company’s governing documents usually control what happens to an owner’s interest at death or departure, regardless of what the owner’s will says. For that reason, we review both sets of documents together where an owner is also an estate planning client.
This office does not provide tax advice. We work alongside your CPA on entity tax elections, purchase price allocations and the other tax questions that arise in business planning.
To learn more about selling or buying a small business, read 10 Things to Know Before Selling (or Buying) a Small Business.