Forming a partnership in Illinois is exceedingly simple; that is the main draw of this kind of business organization. There are typically no formalities required; rather, a partnership is presumed whenever two or more parties come together in business with an implied or express agreement to share the profits that the business generates. Unlike other business formations, such as LLCs …
The simplicity of partnerships is alluring. They are easy to form, and often easy to operate. It can be tempting to hit the ground running with a partnership without first setting a partnership agreement out in writing. In this blog, I explore why a written partnership agreement is nevertheless important, and I review a few relevant terms to include in …
There are several food and agriculture businesses that are a sole proprietorship or general partnership that operate as a DBA. For example, my own cattle business is really Cari Rincker d/b/a Rincker Cattle Co. My parents’ cattle operation is Curt & Pam Rincker d/b/a Rincker Simmentals. DBA’s are ubiquitous in the food and agriculture industry. However, have you cross your …
<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/aYx8HfACKKg” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe> Here is the video of the presentation that I gave to Lawline this past summer on an Overview of Common Agriculture Contracts. You can download the slides and the presentation materials that go along with this presentation and get Continuing Legal Education (“CLE”) credits (for you lawyers out there) via Lawline here. This …
[slideshare id=43294080&doc=grownyc-businessentitiesandinsurance-150107134228-conversion-gate02] I spoke last night to GrowNYC Greenmarket Farmers about choice of business entities, liability, and insurance. A copy of my presentation is available above. This presentation gives an overview of business entities (e.g., sole proprietorship, general and limited partnerships, limited liability companies, corporations, cooperatives), trusts and not-for profit corporations for farms and food businesses. It then goes on …
I am oftentimes asked about the best choice of business entity for a farm/ranch, agri-business or food entrepreneur. There is no one-size fits all answer to that question as each type of business entity offers different strengths and weaknesses. It is important to pick the right business entity for your specific type of enterprise – the answer to that question may …
As I noted in this post, a limited partnership is choice of entity that could be utilized by a farm or agri-business. With limited partnerships, there are two classes of partners: (1) general partners and (2) limited partners. This differs from a general partnership in several ways. The general partners are really the ones “running the show” by controlling most …
I really enjoyed reading the article by Don Tyler titled “Working with Family — Hiring (and Firing) Family Members in this month’s Feedlot magazine (pages 36, 38). It reminded me of the unique challenges that family businesses must face — whether it is a family farm/ranch or any other type of business. Intra-family dynamics can seriously affect the day-to-day operations …
Over the weekend I stumbled across the materials from the First Annual Meeting of New York Agri-Women and reviewed this excellent article titled “Doing Business in New York State: Structures and Strategies” by Bruce L. Anderson, Brian M. Henehan, and Charles J. Sullivan, Esq. Mr. Sullivan spoke on business organizations at the New York Agri-Women’s annual meeting. If you have …