Experts note that in North America more than 50,000 new corporations are formed each month. A business owner must choose from among a handful of legal structures when establishing a new firm. Forming a corporation can appear to be a formidable task requiring a lot of legal assistance, but there are many resources available to those seeking such a legal structure for their businesses. The primary step is to recognize the basic procedure of incorporating. The basic steps are:
The business owner who possesses neither the time nor the inclination to perform these procedures independently can either enlist the services of a lawyer or utilize the services of organizations that deal directly with the individual owner in the incorporation process. Such specialists in incorporation can answer a business owner's questions over the telephone and can act as an agent for the company. For nominal fees advertised at $75 to $300, based on required services, these groups will help the organization choose from among the general, the closed, and the non-stock corporation, and will guide the owner through the procedures to incorporation. More information can be obtained from:
Corporate Agents
PO. Box 1281
Wilmington, DE 19899
(800) 877-4224 or (302) 998-0598
Harvard Services
25 Greystone Manor
Lewes, DE 19958
(800) 345-2677
The more adventurous individual can secure the guidance of several good publications and perform the process on his or her own. These sources contain step-by-step descriptions of the procedures and, in some cases, provide specimens of the required forms.