Re: Protecting Myself as a Freelance Video Editor

[Jonathan Ziegler] "A corporation or LLC (limited liability company) limit your personal exposure to liability created by doing business - if someone sues you, they won't get to come after your house and car. "

Well, that's its purpose.

However it's actually not nearly that simple in real life.

If you want the protection of the "corporate veil" for your personal assets, you have to be able to demonstrate that you've kept the corporation as a consistent and "active" formal business entity.

That means, at a minimum, having a formal list of officers, and regular corporate meetings - with minutes - attended by same. If you fail to do that and/or other appropriate corporate filings and procedures, anyone suing you can "pierce the corporate veil" and come right after your personal assets anyway.

I'm not giving business advice here because I'm not qualified to do so.

I'm just giving general personal advice as someone who's been in business without problems for about 30 years now.

If you want to risk not paying for and obtaining your own professional business advice - based on your particular business circumstances - that's your business. But basing any actions on newsgroup postings has never been and never will be an effective substitute for professional guidance.

Want to get a great video? Hire a video pro. Want reliable legal advice? Hire a legal pro.

Period.

"Before speaking out ask yourself whether your words are true, whether they are respectful and whether they are needed in our civil discussions."-Justice O'Connor