Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: resident agents/s corportation

On a list of the top 100 issues that are important to a new corporation, who will be the resident agent for service of process is #100 in relative importance. Worry about who will keep the books, quote and sell the insurance you need, provide banking services, lease you your business premises, supply your products, and design your fancy logo.

Re: resident agents/s corportation

An agent is an individual (director,

officer or any other person, whether or not affiliated with the

corporation) who resides in California or another corporation

designated by the corporation to accept service of process if

the corporation is sued. The agent must agree to accept

service of process on behalf of the corporation prior to

designation.

Being your own agent or hiring someone else to do it is a personal choice. I offer the service to my clients for a small fee. If your company is named in a lawsuit, I become one of the first people notified. Also, it cuts down on the junk mail you receive at the corporate office.

About 1/2 of my clients hire me to be their registered agent. The other half usually name a corporate officer like the president. Feel free to contact me if you additional information.

Re: resident agents/s corportation

It's a personal / practical choice without much drama. More importantly, make sure you know how to properly handle the legal requirements of the corp. Get counsel to educate and help you on the issues. Feel free to contact me if interested.

Re: resident agents/s corportation

In California, the name and (non-post office box) address of the resident agent is a public record (but so is everything you put on your statement of information) and can be viewed on the Secretary of State website: http://kepler.sos.ca.gov/list.html

This becomes potentially relevant for those who are public figures or who have issues with stalkers.

If you serve yourself, it's important to keep your resident agent information up to date, so that you have notice of a lawsuit. Not so long ago, a potential client came to me that had only a couple days left to respond to a complaint filed in federal court against them - they had been served at the resident agent address, which was out of date.

Lastly, as another attorney indicated, a question this basic indicates to me a high likelihood that there are or soon will be other aspects of your corporation that are not or will not be properly set up or maintained. It's been said all successful businesses budget for legal and accounting expenses, and you should, too.