Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: What is the difference between a 'professional corporation' and a 'medical c

I'm sorry, this is quite complex and you need to formally consult an attorney.

Sorry.

Re: What is the difference between a 'professional corporation' and a 'medical c

I cannot give you advice without reviewing all of the incorporation documents and talking to you, but generally a professional corporation can be formed for the purpose of providing medical services. Look at California Corporation Code 13400 through 13410.

Read the code and see if your corporation complies with the special requirements.

Re: What is the difference between a 'professional corporation' and a 'medical c

If you are not a doctor you can not have a medical corporation. You have several problematic issues with sharing fees with someone who is not in the same profession.

Joel Selik

www.4thelaw.com

800-894-2889

Re: What is the difference between a 'professional corporation' and a 'medical c

A professional corporation is a corporation set up for the purpose of practicing a profession. A medical corporation is a particular kind of professional corporation -- one set up to practice medicine.

California law also recognizes podiatric medical corporations, psychological corporations, speech-language pathology corporations, audiology corporations, nursing corporations, and on and on.

A medical corporation must have physicians and surgeons (licensed MDs) as holders of 51% of its shares. See Business and Professions Code section 13401.5. The balance can be DPMs, psychologists, registered nurses, optometrists, etc.

A nursing corporation must have 51% of its stock owned by registered nurses. The remaining 49% can be owned by physicians and surgeons, DPMs, psychologists, etc.

So, you see, a particular type of professional corporation must be majority-owned by licensees in the field in which it conducts business, but the remaining 49% can be owned by licensed professionals in certain closely-related fields.

I strongly recommend that you contact the California licensing authority for registered nurses -- I can't remember its name right now but I'm pretty sure they have some pre-printed literature advising nurses on the conduct of their profession through a PC.

Generally, within the universe of professional corporations, the things that distinguish one type from another -- a medical from a nursing corporation, for example -- would be (1) what it says it is in its Articles of Incorporation; (2) what it actually does; (3) who its owners are; and (4) which professional licensing body's rules does it follow.