Corporate Formation

Laying a proper foundation for success is a critical element of corporate formation. In Illinois, you must undergo several required steps to establish a business or incorporate. Working with an experienced corporate formation attorney who understands the various requirements and processes can ensure you are set up for success.

Our legal team of corporate formation lawyers assists clients in all business and commercial law aspects, including corporate formation. Our experienced team of corporate formation attorneys can guide you through each stage of the process, ensuring full compliance with all applicable state laws and guidelines and federal regulations. Our goal is to help you properly and proactively anticipate and mitigate future legal issues and ensure that you and your business are positioned to succeed.

Learn more about how our Schaumburg corporate formation attorneys can assist you with your legal needs; call (847) 944-9400 or contact us online to request a complimentary consultation.

Corporation Requirements in Illinois

As previously mentioned, several requirements exist for forming a corporation in Illinois. You must properly adhere to these steps to avoid potential future problems.

Our Schaumburg corporate formation attorneys can assist you with all of the following requirements:

Selecting a Corporate Name: The name of your corporation cannot be the name or appear to be the name of a person or contain a given name or initials unless the name also includes identifiers indicating the name is not a natural person. Such identifiers can include “Incorporated,” “Inc.,” “Ltd.,” “Corp.,” etc. Additionally, your name must not be too similar to any other names of corporations already on file. Corporate names can be reserved for a period of 90 days via a Name Reservation Request application with the Illinois Secretary of State, which has a $25 filing fee.

Filing Articles of Incorporation: The next step in the corporate formation process is preparing and filing Articles of Incorporation. These documents, which are filed with the Illinois Secretary of State, must include various information, including the name and address of the corporation, names and addresses of the members of the board of directors, and a separate certificate of acceptance signed by the registered agent, among others.

Filing the List of Officers: You must also file an Initial List of Officers, Directors, and Registered Agent and State Business License application with the Illinois Secretary of State. This must be done when you file the Articles of Incorporation.

Appointing a Registered Agent: You must appoint a registered agent (also known as a resident agent) who will be responsible for the service of the process. The registered agent may be an individual person or a corporate entity and will be the party that accepts legal documents and paperwork on behalf of your corporation in the event of a lawsuit.

Complying with Annual List of Officers Requisites: In Illinois, all corporations that conduct business within the state are required to file an Annual List of Officers, Directors, and Registered Agent and State Business License Application each year.

In addition to ensuring you meet the above requirements, our corporate formation attorneys can also assist you in ensuring compliance with additional tax and regulatory requirements, such as obtaining an Employer Identification Number (EIN), obtaining additional required business licenses (if applicable), and filing for small business corporation (S-corporation) status if desired.

Setting Your Business Up for Success

While meeting the state requirements for corporate formation is a basic element of establishing a business or incorporating it in Illinois, there are also additional steps you can and should take to ensure that you are set up for success.

Our corporate formation attorneys can assist you in the following ways:

• Create a record book and organize all necessary and important corporate documents, such as board of director/shareholder minutes, stock certificates and stubs, and copies of corporate formation papers.
• Establishing corporate bylaws, outlining the basics of corporate operation for your entity.
• Issuing stock to shareholders and ensuring compliance with all state and federal securities laws and regulations.
• This is not an exhaustive list; our experienced corporate formation lawyers is well-versed in all aspects of Illinois business law and can aid you in any aspect of corporate formation.

Meeting Your Unique Legal Needs

Our corporate formation attorneys understand that no two situations are alike. As such, we do not employ a cookie-cutter approach to every client who walks through our doors. Instead, we work directly with our clients to understand their concerns and goals. This allows us to devise creative, personalized strategies to help our clients achieve their legal objectives.

Because we limit our caseload, we can give our clients the attentive support and representation they deserve. A limited caseload has not prevented us from providing the same high level of service as a large firm while also ensuring the specific needs of each individual client are met.

If you need help with the corporate formation in Schaumburg or throughout Chicagoland Area, contact Gardi, Haught, Fischer & Bhosale LTD online or call (847) 944-9400 to speak with one of our corporate formation lawyers today.

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