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Overview
Complete Set of Legal Forms FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Obtaining the right legal forms can cost you thousands of dollars in attorney fees, but using incomplete or poorly-drafted forms can cost you your business. With a good starting point and an understanding of the basic issues, you can easily create your own simple contracts, forms, and agreements to successfully run your business. Let The Complete Book of Business Legal Forms provide you what you need to save thousands of dollars in legal fees and protect yourself from liability.
- READY-TO-GO FORMS with Step-by-Step Instructions
ESSENTIAL DOCUMENTS YOU NEED TO:
- Borrow and lend money
- Hire and tax employess
- Comply with current federal regulations
- Settle disputes without going to court
- Avoid problems with the IRS
- And much more...
"Their legal survival guides are dynamite and very readable."
- Small Business Opportunities
"Explaining the way the law works."
- Daily Herald
"Sphinx [legal guides] are staples of legal how-to collections."
- Library Journal
"An established legal guide."
- Smart Money
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781402233074 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Sourcebooks |
| Publication date: | 06/01/2008 |
| Series: | Legal Survival Guides |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 288 |
| Sales rank: | 642,399 |
| File size: | 13 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Introduction
THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK
This book has a broad application. It is intended to provide useful forms for all businesses, whatever their legal structure may be. Therefore, for businesses run as partnerships, sole proprietorships, corporations, or other forms, this book stands alone.
This book may decrease dependence on lawyers, but it may not in more complex cases. It will have served its purpose if it helps you to recognize the occasions in which you do need a lawyer, and then helps you to use your lawyer more efficiently.
Failing to hire a lawyer when you need one is not likely to be economical. If, in reading this book, you discover that what you want to do is more complicated than you imagined or involves a large sum of money, then get a lawyer. It would be better to pay for a lawyer, even if in the end you determine his or her services were unnecessary, rather than try to handle a complex matter for which you are unqualified on your own.
Use your lawyer's services wisely; do not leave everything up to him or her. You know your business and what is important for it. The best lawyer's ideas about your business may be completely wrong, and he or she may attach importance to the unimportant (because it was important to the last client) and gloss over a critical factor. Use this book to know what to expect from your lawyer and why. And then read and understand the work your lawyer does for you. Make sure it fits your situation.
The forms in this book have been limited to those that will be usable in all states. There are other business forms books on the market that claim to be comprehensive, but include many forms (such as deeds, bad check notices, and leases) that are unusable in many states. For example, deeds vary from state to state. Some states have very specific requirements for how the witnesses must be indicated, the form of the notary public certification, and where and how much space must be left blank for the entry of recording information.
In the past, each state had its own official form for filing a security interest under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC-1 form), and some assessed penalties for failing to use the official form. The trend is toward standardized forms, which are the forms used in this book. However, you should always check your state law for any variation to the forms. Some states have specific forms for bad check notices, and have required statements and warnings in leases. It would be impossible to provide such forms for each state in a book such as this, and it would be irresponsible to include such forms knowing that they will not comply with the laws in every state.
In recent years, the federal and state governments have made great use of the Internet. Filing and research that used to require a visit to a courthouse or state government office can now be done from your desk. Most states, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and other agencies have posted downloadable forms online for your use.
ORGANIZATION OF THIS BOOK
The first chapter of the book deals with some general principles of contract law, and following chapters apply those principles to specific situations. Before you use any of the contract forms in this book, pay careful attention to Chapter 1, especially the information about the proper execution of contracts. Depending on the form of your business-corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, etc.-and the form of business of the entity you contract with, you will need to insert the proper signature format to make sure the proper party executes the contract and does so correctly.
Chapters 2 through 4 deal with employees and various other kinds of agents. In Chapters 5 through 8, the book deals with specific business transactions-buying and selling, renting, and borrowing and lending money. Chapter 9 deals with issues of liability-and how to avoid it-in connection with contract disputes and other matters. The appendix contains several miscellaneous forms that may be useful in connection with all the matters covered elsewhere in the book.
The sample forms presented throughout the book are filled in with information for fictional businesses. The forms may be abbreviated or otherwise slightly different from the forms in the appendix in order to save space. However, the samples throughout are numbered according to the blank forms in the appendix for ease of use.
If you come across a sample numbered "1," it corresponds to blank form 1 in the appendix. If you see a sample numbered "1A" or "1B," both of these samples relate to form 1, but are different versions. If you see a sample with no number, that means that there is no corresponding blank form in the appendix.
The forms in the appendix are designed to be used as is, although you may need to modify them to meet your specific needs. As previously stated, those included in the appendix are the forms generally used.
APPLICABLE LAWS
This book is intended to be used throughout the United States, and the laws of no specific jurisdiction are cited or relied on in this text. While the laws of each state vary significantly, general principles of contract and agency apply in every state. However, it may be that your specific circumstances raise a legal issue unique to your jurisdiction. For that reason and others, competent legal advice is always desirable. At times, the need for a lawyer is explicitly mentioned in this book.
Table of Contents
How to Use the CD-ROM
Using Self-Help Law Books
Introduction
The Purpose of This Book
Organization of This Book
Applicable Laws
Chapter 1: How Contracts Work
A "Private" Kind of Law
Enforcing Contracts
Getting It In Writing
Signatures
Notaries and Acknowledgments
Amending a Contract
Assigning a Contract
Terminating Contracts
Chapter 2: Employees
Employment Contracts
Resignation and Termination
Special Employment Agreements
References
Chapter 3: Independent Contractors
Employee versus Independent Contractor
Consultants
Chapter 4: Powers of Attorney
Chapter 5: Buying, Selling, and Leasing Real Estate
Buying and Selling Real Estate
Leasing Real Estate
Managing the Lease
Chapter 6: Buying, Selling, and Renting Merchandise and Equipment.
Sale or Purchase of Equipment on an Installment Plan
Various Contract Warranties
Consignment Sales
Equipment Rental Agreements
Uniform Commercial Code Transactions
Chapter 7: Sale and Purchase of a Business
Stock Transactions
Asset Transactions
Chapter 8: Borrowing and Lending Money
Promissory Notes
Securing the Loan
Delinquent Accounts
Chapter 9: Avoiding Liability and Settling Disputes
Protecting Against Liability Before It Arises
Discharging Liability After It Arises
Settling Disputes Without Going to Court
Appendix: Blank Forms
Index