Legal Question in Business Law in New Jersey

Re: Business

The answer depends on how the purchase is done. If the business is operated as a separate entity such as a corporation or an LLC and you purchase the entity, the tax history will follow it. If, on the other hand, you purchase all the assets of the business from the entity that owns them (possibly including the business name and its goodwill), the tax liability and history will not necessarily follow it as a matter of law. You may still have credit problems if you use the name. You will also need to be careful in dealing with the IRS because any tax (or other)liens will follow the assets if the liens have attached.

Since you are asking the question, you probably should not feel comfortable about buying this business without professional help. That means at least the help of a lawyer and, depending on the nature of the business and the transaction, perhaps an accountant and a business appraiser. In your due diligence investigation, you should also satisfy yourself that the failure is due to the previous accountant rather than the more likely possibility that it is due to the owner. Remember that the buyer is always the party left to live with the problems. Spend some of your resources to ensure that you don't buy into any problems.

My firm handles business purchases and other matters of this type. If I can be of further help to you, call or email. If you remind me that the contact was through Lawguru, the first consultation will be free.

See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm

Re: Business

Mr. Corbett had a lot of good points. However, I'm a white collar crime attorney and I could tell you that you should only do this if you are going to be perfect with everything. I've seen this happen before and your every move may be looked at. I would be real careful here.

Re: Business

You need a tax and business attorney before you proceed. Many businesses have tax problems. That does not mean you cannot purchase the business. You just need to investigate the taxes due and to have the acquisition carefully structured. This is not the type of transaction you can go forward without expert help

I have more information on my web site:

www.taxesq.com

I hope this helps!

Ron Cappuccio