501c3 & Non Profit Services
Expedited Service additional $200
Regular turn around time to receive your Articles of Incorporation is usually 3-4 weeks, however, it depends on how backlogged the Secretary of State is. You can expedite your order and be incorporated within 24 business hours. Your Articles and EIN (if ordered) can be emailed or faxed to you as soon as they are received so that you can open a bank account right away. Expedited turn around time for the EIN and corporate book depends on how soon you return the required paperwork with signatures to AMC Legal. Most books are completed and shipped in 1-2 business days.
Liability Protection
This is a strongly recommended agreement that every single business needs and here’s why. When you incorporate, you are protected from personal liability (provided you follow all corporate formalities) as the owner of the company. Shareholders are protected from liability by statute but directors and officers are not. With the indemnification agreement if a director or officer is found liable for a decision made in the regular course of business, the corporation will pay for any court costs and judgments the officer or director incurs in defending a lawsuit or action.
You Will Also Need
EIN
(aka FEIN, Tax ID, Federal Tax ID, Employer Identification Number) Your Non Profit Corporation is a separate entity from yourself. Therefore it will need its own Tax Identification Number. Though it is also called an Employer Identification Number you will need one even if you don’t have any employees. This is like the social security number for the Corporation itself. You will need it to open a bank account, file tax returns and many other things. AMC Legal can obtain this for you. (This will first be sent to you for your review and signature before it is filed).
County Recording
(aka Compliance with Post Incorporation Requirements of BCA) This is no longer required in Illinois as of 1/1/2011.
Charitable Organization Registration Statement
If you will be collecting donations or holding fundraisers then you need to file a Charitable Organization Registration Statement with the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. AMC Legal will prepare and submit this for you.
You May Also Need
501c3 Special Purpose Statement
If you are planning on applying for 501c3 exemption then you will need special wording in your articles of incorporation. Doing this when you incorporate is a lot easier and cheaper than amending your articles later on. This only includes the special purpose statement required by the IRS. Other changes may be required by the IRS later on during your application process. AMC Legal will add this provision for Free if done at time of initial filing of the articles. Additional fees will apply if articles need to be amended.
501c3 IRS Application
If you are forming your non profit organization for charitable, educational, religious or scientific purposes you may qualify for 501c3 exemption with the IRS. 501c3 allows your donors to be able to deduct their donations from their tax returns. It also allows your organization to apply for grants as well as be exempt from income taxes. The application process is extensive and time consuming. It can take anywhere from 6 months to 18 months to obtain the approval. The average time for approval is 12 months. AMC Legal can prepare your application and submit it for you for our preparation fee plus filing fees. The filing fees are either $400 (if your gross receipts are under $10,000 annually) or $850 depending on your organization’s budget. Please call for more details.
Tax Related
Business Registration
You will need to file a business registration in two instances: if you have employees or if you need a sales tax (or reseller’s) number. AMC Legal can prepare and file this for you. (This will first be sent to you for your review and signature before it is filed).
Illinois “E” Number
This is a tax exempt number for your non profit organization which will allow you to purchase goods for your NFP without having to pay sales tax in Illinois. This is available once your organization has 1 year of records to show the state. AMC Legal can prepare the paperwork and file this for you.
If you will have employees
Business Registration
You will need to file a business registration in two instances: if you have employees or if you need a sales tax (or reseller’s) number. AMC Legal can prepare and file this for you. (This will first be sent to you for your review and signature before it is filed).
Report To Determine Liability for Unemployment
This will determine whether you have to pay into the unemployment system. If you do, you may be eligible for unemployment if your business is not doing well. AMC Legal can prepare and file this for you. (This will first be sent to you for your review and signature before it is filed).
New Hire Reporting Forms
This reports basic information for the state to track who is working in Illinois. AMC Legal can prepare and file this for you. (This will first be sent to you for your review and signature before it is filed).
DBA (aka Doing Business As, Assumed Name, Fictitious Name)
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Many people can be confused by this since if you were a sole proprietor you probably registered a DBA with the county. After you incorporate, the DBA is something different. After you incorporate, a DBA is required if you want to use any name different than your legal name, even if you leave the Inc. off your name, you will need to register a DBA.
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For example, if your corporation is called ABC Inc. and you want to use the name ABC you will need to register a DBA. Also, in the same example, if you want to use the name AB you will also need a DBA.
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AMC Legal can file your DBA with the Illinois Secretary of State for$260 for 2015. The filing fee changes every year. The DBA will also need to be renewed in every year that is divisible by 5, i.e. in 2015, 2020 etc. AMC Legal can renew the DBA for you for $260.
Corporate Counsel Club
Silver Service $90 per year
Call throughout the year with any legal questions for your business.
Registered Agent Service $150 per year
Agreements
Custom Agreements
Legal documents are a necessary part of doing business, any business. Unfortunately, many business owners sign documents without fully understanding the terms that the other party has written into a contract. Even worse, the business owner may not fully become aware of the ramifications of that contract until it is too late. I provide legal document review with a full written opinion. I can also create a custom contract drafted just for your needs. I do not provide form contracts. The contracts I provide are made to fit your needs and your particular business. I can review or create customized agreements such as: leases, non-disclosure agreements and non-compete agreements to name a few. I can also customize any agreement listed below.
Indemnification Agreement
This is a strongly recommended agreement that every single business needs and here’s why. When you incorporate, you are protected from personal liability (provided you follow all corporate formalities) as the owner of the company. Shareholders are protected from liability by statute but directors and officers are not. With the indemnification agreement if a director or officer is found liable for a decision made in the regular course of business, the corporation will pay for any court costs and judgments the officer or director incurs in defending a lawsuit or action.
Employment Agreement
An Employment Agreement is an essential way to give you security as an employer and to manage the expectations of the employee. As with anything, get it in writing! AMC Legal can prepare a custom employment agreement suitable for your situation. An employment agreement can address many situations such as: scope of work, commission, salary or hourly terms, vacation, over time, sick time, non competition, employment at will or for cause termination and confidentiality. Every employer, no matter how big or how small, needs some type of agreement.
Independent Contractor Agreement
Extreme care must be exercised when using Independent Contractors (ICs). The IRS and the state of Illinois are cracking down on the use of ICs. Illinois enacted new laws as of January 1st of this year to enforce this even more. Their motivation? Taxes of course. If your ICs truly are independent then it is the IC’s responsibility for paying employment taxes, not yours. However, they must truly be independent to be considered ICs. There are several factors the federal and state government uses to determine independence. Three of which are: is the IC incorporated on its own, is there an IC Agreement and do you exercise control (other than general direction) over the IC? If your IC is already a separately incorporated business then that is taken care of. Otherwise, you can recommend, or even require, that they be incorporated. Secondly, you need an Independent Contractor’s Agreement to legally set forth the relationship as being truly independent. Call AMC Legal to discuss this important matter and to obtain an IC Agreement. Other businesses who have dealt with ICs incorrectly have been required to pay back employment taxes for the entire time they’ve used the IC. Don’t let this happen to you.
Lender's Agreement and Promissory Note
If you would like to fund your Non Profit Organization but not consider it a donation you can lend the organization the funds and get paid back as if you are a creditor. There are many advantages to getting money into your NFP in this way. If you lend money to your NFP then it puts you in the shoes of a creditor. You lend the money to your organization, with a lender’s agreement and promissory note, then the NFP will pay you back with interest. This way you can get your money back from the NFP once it has the funding.
Changes To Your NFP
Change Name
If you want to change the name of your Non Profit AMC Legal can prepare the notice, minutes and resolutions and file the necessary documents with the State. The documents must be signed and faxed or mailed back before the paperwork can be filed with the State.
Change Registered Agent
If you want to change your registered agent AMC Legal can prepare the notice, minutes and resolutions and file the necessary documents with the State. The documents must be signed and faxed or mailed back before the paperwork can be filed with the State.
Change Provisions
If you need to amend your articles to add or change provisions AMC Legal can prepare the corporate notice, minutes and resolutions and file the necessary documents with the State. The documents must be signed and faxed or mailed back before the paperwork can be filed with the State.
Change Member
If you are adding or changing a Member you must do a Member Resolution, notice and minures. AMC Legal can prepare all this for you. There will be an additional charge per additional Member. The documents must be signed and faxed or mailed back before the new membership certificates will be sent.
Change Directors
If you are removing or adding Directors you must have an approval from the Members. AMC Legal can prepare the notice, minutes and resolutions. If an amended annual report is required an additional will apply. There will be an additional charge per additional Director. The documents must be signed and faxed or mailed back before the paperwork can be filed with the State.
Change Officers
If you are removing or adding Officers you must have an approval from the Directors. AMC Legal can prepare the notice, minutes and resolutions. If an amended annual report is required an additional fee will apply. There will be an additional charge per additional Officer. The documents must be signed and faxed or mailed back before the paperwork can be filed with the State.
Dissolution
If you have decided to close your Non Profit you must first wind up any business you have pending. Once your business is wound up you can then file the dissolution paperwork with the State. AMC Legal can do this for you. If you do not owe any money to anyone, AMC Legal can prepare the notices, minutes and resolutions for you and, once signed, can file the paperwork with the State. If you do owe creditors, AMC will also prepare a notice to creditors letter for you to send to notify any and all creditors for an additional fee. It will be your responsibility to send the letter to your creditors. The documents must be signed and faxed or mailed back before the paperwork can be filed with the State.