Saturday, January 26, 2008

More about do it yourself LLC Operating Agreements

I read Operating Agreement for LLC? which gives links to forms. I followed these links and now I am reporting back:

A. How To Form An LLC website:

  1. Which has this interesting disclaimer:The above is provided for informational purposes only and is NOT to be relied upon as legal advice. This service is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney and we encourage users to have all documents created on our site reviewed by an attorney. No attorney-client relationship is established by use of our online legal forms system and the user is not to rely upon any information found anywhere on our site. THESE FORMS ARE SOLD ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITH NO WARRANTIES OR GUARANTIES. If you wish personal assistance in deciding whether the document found on our site is right for you or desire representations and warranties upon the legality of the document you are purchasing in the jurisdiction you will be using it, contact an attorney licensed to practice law in your state.
  2. The cost? $16.99.
B. The Internet Legal Research Group: Indiana Limited Liability Company Operating Agreement (Manager-Managed):
  1. You can see the agreement before paying $9.99.
  2. The web page offers lifetime updates but offers no explanation of those updates.
  3. Reading over the agreement, I do not think it is as bad as it could be. What bothers me is what I do not see. Readers might want to go back to my articles Getting Out of An Indiana Limited Liability Company and Limited Liability Companies: What Does an Operating Agreement Do For a LLC?.)
  4. I see no explanation of what is meant by a "A Manager-Managed Limited Liability Company".
  5. This disclaimer does not appear on the page for Indiana forms but the main page for operating agreements:
    NOTE: THE FORMS AVAILABLE IN THIS ARCHIVE ARE SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS OF USE AND ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE ADVICE OF AN ATTORNEY. LEGAL ADVICE OF ANY NATURE SHOULD BE SOUGHT FROM COMPETENT LEGAL COUNSEL IN THE RELEVANT JURISDICTION. THESE FORMS ARE PROVIDED "AS IS."
C. The last selection is a PDF document from Jian.com. This one does give one a good idea of the complexity of a good LLC operating agreement and its best feature is it is free. The provider also gives these notice to would be users:
  1. Do use it "as-is".
  2. They will need to make appropriate changes to meet their needs.
  3. "You Should Have this Agreement Reviewed and Approved by a Qualified Attorney at Law Before Using It.
Bottom line? Those using any of these forms are on their own if they use them and get a lawyer. No one from these companies is watching the business person's back - until their get an attorney to help them create their own LLC.

If you want to start a LLC, please do yourself a favor and read all of the articles here about limited liability companies. Just click on the links belows next to the word Labels. Even if you are not from Indiana, there may be useful information for you. Read, know what you are getting into, and then get a lawyer.