Benefits of Having a Lawyer as an Alabama LLC’s Registered Agent
This article originally appeared at: https://www.sarahsshepard.com/blog/benefits-of-lawyer-as-ra
A registered agent is a company or individual who takes care of the legal notices, contact with the government, and any other legal processes on your business’s behalf .
When you register your business entity, namely, as an LLC, you’ll be required to appoint a capable registered agent that can take care of these things for you. However, it’s not a role that just anyone can take over, and you certainly don’t want to carry the extra weight yourself since you’ll already have your hands complete with daily administrative tasks and more.
That’s why we’re going to talk about what precisely a registered agent does — and why you should choose to retain your trusted Alabama business lawyer for the job.
Read on to learn more.
Why Do LLCs Need a Registered Agent? All business entities in the state of Alabama legally require that the business owner appoints a registered agent .
This isn’t just in Alabama: generally speaking, all states require that LLCs, partnerships, corporations, and other select business entities have a registered agent — also referred to as a statutory agent or agent of the process — to be their “point of contact with the state and for service of process.”
Essentially, the point of a registered agent is to ensure that your business has a reliable way of being contacted regarding notice for legal action coming from another party, court, or administrative body (in other words, service of process).
When we say legal action and service of process, here’s what we mean in terms of your registered agent’s legal responsibilities:
Providing an address for receiving legal process, which means anyone that has legitimate legal complaints against your business can send the service of process to your agent’s address
Having a point of contact for government entities means that the government will know how to contact your business directly should there be an issue of it ted information from you.
Ensuring that your business remains compliant, which means that any official papers notifying you of any non-compliant action carried out by your business will go to your agent’s address — and they will be responsible for informing you and ensuring that you get back on track
Whoever the appointed registered agent is will be solely responsible for responding to these notices. If your business is registered in other states, you’ll need a registered agent within each state.
Once the state has the information regarding your registered agent, it becomes a matter of public record. That means anyone searching through a database for business entities will be able to find out who your registered agent is and how to get in touch with them.
These responsibilities alone are primarily why many businesses opt to hire their trusted Alabama business lawyer or another legal service provider as they ensure that all service process documentation is handled appropriately and that you’re notified of any legal issues as well as the deadlines associated with them.
Who Exactly Needs a Registered Agent? Registered agents are most commonly associated with LLCs (limited liability corporations or companies) because these business entities are ubiquitous. However, the other types of business that must legally appoint one include:
Corporations — including S corps and C corps
Limited partnerships
Limited liability partnerships
Limited liability limited partnerships (these aren’t recognized in every state, but they’re recognized in Alabama)
Whether you have an LLC or one of the above business entities, you’ll be expected to name your registered agent when you incorporate your business or set up your business formation.
If you’re wondering about general partnerships and sole proprietorships, these entities don’t typically need to designate a registered agent. But, again, this is because you don’t have to register these types of business entities within any state. However, they can also appoint a registered agent if needed because this can be the best practice for interacting with the government.
Of course, all businesses are expected to keep up with their business tax obligations and respond to legal notices.
What Are the Criteria for Choosing a Registered Agent in Alabama? Technically, you can make anyone a registered agent, even yourself. But, of course, you or whoever that person is must meet the following criteria:
They must be at least 18 years of age or older
They must be a resident of the state of your business registration. However, if you choose to use a company, it can be a domestic or foreign entity — as long as it’s legally authorized to do business within the same state
They must have a physical address in the same state of the business registration, which is usually referred to as a “registered office.” However, it should be noted that P.O. boxes don’t qualify as physically addresses
They must be physically available to receive mail and sign official legal documents during regular business hours (Monday through Friday between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm)
As long as these requirements are met, every state will offer you the choice of appointing yourself, someone else within your business, or a third party. However, it should be said that you cannot name your own business as the registered agent — it must be a responsible party such as yourself, a business partner, manager, Alabama business lawyer, or another legal service provider.
Why Should I Choose My Alabama Business Lawyer as My Registered Agent? It may seem more appealing to appoint yourself or your business partner as your registered agent as it’s essentially free, and you’re going to receive those legal notices anyway.
However, we can assure you that you’re actually sacrificing and putting your company at risk by saving.
As organized as you are, it’s all too easy to miss a critical deadline as those administrative tasks pile up. This is especially true for small businesses that don’t have the manpower for the appropriate delegation of tasks.
Outside of your realistic availability, there’s also the issue of privacy. You wouldn’t be able to use a P.O. box as a registered agent, which means you would likely end up having to use your home address if you don’t have a separate business location. This means that technically anybody could show up at your front door, which isn’t safe by any means.
Therefore, the best thing you can do is appoint an Alabama business lawyer as your registered agent.
Here’s why:
They’re Better Equipped to Handle the Service Process Chances are, your Alabama business lawyer has been there and done that. In other words, they understand how the service process, as well as due process — works.
That means any legal notification or complaint that comes your way, not only will they notify you about it, but they’ll also review the legal aspects for you and provide several solutions to any litigation you may be facing.
They Understand Compliance and State Laws Lawyers have dedicated their lives to learning the law . So naturally, therefore, they know many things about compliance laws and other business laws in your state. An Alabama attorney can help prevent problems before they arise.
That means that aside from legally receiving government and other legal notices on your behalf, they can help you with certain aspects of your business that would prevent you from being served official papers in the first place.
They Have No Problem Acting as Your Notification Alarm Put it this way — when you pay a lawyer to do a job, they’re going to do their job.
That means ensuring you’re aware of any legal notifications that come your way and acting like a broken record to ensure you meet your legal deadlines.
You may be able to ignore your alarm clock. Still, you won’t be able to ignore someone who is legally bound to act on your behalf, which means you can depend on your Alabama business lawyer to ensure you don’t forget who you have to answer to under state law.
One of the best things you can do for your LLC hires the services of a trusted Alabama business lawyer. They have the necessary experience to be your registered corporate agent. In addition, they can take the excess burden off your shoulders so you can focus on running and growing your business.
Get in touch with us today to speak with Sarah S. Shepard or another Huntsville corporate attorney about what we can do for you as your LLC’s appointed registered agent.
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