what’s In A Name – Just Your Business Survival!

What’s so important about how I sign my name?”

I get asked that question all of the time from my business consulting clients.

I tell them that a better question to ask me is this:

“Who cares about how I sign my name?”

The answer is a simple one.

NOBODY.

FINE PRINT: Except… your customers and clients, your creditors, your bank, your mortgage company, your landlord, the I.R.S… oh yes… and anyone else that wants to SUE YOU (and don’t forget ALL their lawyers!).

As in many areas of the law, the exception to the rule swallows up the rule!

What do I mean by this?

Well, let’s start with some basics. For instance, if you’ve already formed a corporation or limited liability company (LLC), you may think that you’re already protected from personal liability in the event of a lawsuit against your business.

In general, the rule is that a corporation or LLC, if formed correctly, and if all of the formalities required under the law of the State where the entity was formed are followed, does protect you from personal liability for business debts and lawsuits.

FINE PRINT: Except… when you choose to do business as an individual, and not as the corporation or LLC that you initially formed.

You see, whenever you sign documents like contracts, purchase orders, contractual agreements, leases, loans, mortgages, promissory notes, and most other legal documents involving your business, you need to make sure that you sign your name only in your business capacity.

You MUST avoid signing your name in your individual capacity.

And how do you do that? It’s pretty simple. You see, the format that you use to sign your name is the controlling factor.

In many cases, you as the business owner, sign your name without knowing how to properly sign your name to business documents. In fact, most business owners of corporations and LLC’s still sign legally binding agreements in their individual capacity…and not as the business.

SIGN AS AN AGENT OF YOUR BUSINESS

If you have formed a corporation or an LLC, you must remember to sign all contracts, agreements, invoices, etc… as an agent of the business.

For example… Many business owners haphazardly, or perhaps inadvertently, sign legal documents like the format shown in

EXAMPLE 1 below:

EXAMPLE 1

(signature)
————————
John Doe

“But what is the consequence of signing my name like in EXAMPLE 1 above to invoices, agreements, or documents?”

EXAMPLE 1 and the above signature format legally establishes that YOU have signed the contract, invoice, loan, or agreement as an individual.

And not as an agent on behalf of your business.

If you sign your name to agreements in the form depicted in EXAMPLE 1 above, YOU could very well be liable personally to meet all of the terms of the agreement.

And you likely don’t want to do this!

Why Simply out, because you’re therefore subjecting all of your business assets and personal assets as well to the risk of a lawsuit.

If you sign agreements as depicted in EXAMPLE 1 above, YOU will very likely be named personally, as well as your business, in any lawsuit filed against the business.

Remember then:

Signing your name like in EXAMPLE 1 above DOES NOT establish that you have signed the agreement as an agent on behalf of your business.

“Okay. So how should I sign my name to my invoices, contracts, leases, loans, or any other business agreements?

What simple step can I take to protect my business, and my personal assets as well?

SIGN DOCUMENTS ONLY AS AN AGENT OF YOUR BUSINESS

Make sure that you only sign legal documents, letters, memos, invoices, loans, leases, etc… as an agent of your business.

How must I sign my name to any legal document or agreement to show that I am signing only as an agent of my business?

Follow EXAMPLE 2 below:

EXAMPLE 2

ABC CORPORATION, INC.

(signature)
———————————–
BY: John Doe
President (Company Title)

If you sign your name on the dotted line following the exact format depicted in Example 2 above, you legally establish that you are only signing as an agent on behalf of the business…and not in your individual capacity.

But you MUST follow the Example 2 precisely.

CAVEAT: Another very important point on this topic.

AVOID SIGNING documents that state “PERSONAL GUARANTY” on them.

A Personal Guaranty is usually a separate legal document attached to the main agreement. You generally see a Personal Guaranty in a loan, mortgage, or lease. However, sometimes a Personal Guaranty can be established just by the way you sign the legal document, invoice, lease, or agreement.

How?

Simple. If the agreement merely has a signature line that has your individual name on it without any reference to your business name, you are signing the document as a Personal Guaranty. You are therefore personally liable for that agreement if you sign the agreement with such a signature line.

But, what do I do if I am being required to sign a Personal Guaranty, like for a business loan or commercial lease for example?

If a Personal Guaranty is required, you or your lawyer should negotiate a limited period of time (the shortest possible) that the Personal Guaranty will bind you as an individual.

Remember, if you formed a corporation or LLC in the first place, you did it to avoid personal liability and to protect your personal assets. Anyone who does business with your company should, and usually does, know this. So, be careful. Other possibilities can be negotiated too. Just do your best not to sign in your personal capacity by signing a Personal Guaranty.

It’s important to remember to only sign legal documents, invoices, and even letters as an agent of your business. (Follow the format found in EXAMPLE 2 above).

How else can I make sure that I am signing my name properly to all of my business documents?

Call your attorney to review all of your agreements, invoices, leases, and legal documents BEFORE you sign them. Your attorney will offer sound advice that protects YOU, your loved ones, and your business.

Now, let’s review.

What’s in a name?

Well… besides your business…

…it could be all of YOUR personal and family assets!

The best advicve especially in the midst of tough economic times or a Recession, is to have any document you sign first reviewed by your lawyer or business consultant.

Copyright (c) 2008. Miguel Mendez, Jr. All rights reserved.

How To Attract Money Using Law Of Attraction

If you want to effectively learn how to attract money using the Law of Attraction, you’ve got to go deeper than just doing affirmations and “thinking positive.” This articles tells you a rare secret for using the Law of Attraction to attract money which gets you to the heart of attraction without a lot of work.

What you must do when using the Law of Attraction is to learn how to manifest money through “unseen” or “unconscious” means, which are found at deeper levels than your conscious mind.

How deep do I mean? I mean going straight to your subconscious mind and addressing all the negative beliefs you have around money. Now, many people such as yourself hear this and say, “Gee, I don’t think I have any negative beliefs around money, so this doesn’t apply to me,” or say, “But I’m doing money affirmations to change my subconscious mind, so this doesn’t apply to me, either,” right? Wrong! If you’ve been living in today’s modern society, you most likely have absorbed many negative beliefs about money that are working straight against all those money affirmations you’re doing when using the Law of Attraction for money goals.

These “unseen and unheard” money beliefs are lurking in the background of your mind and discrediting all that “positive thinking” you’re trying to “shove down its throat.” Your subconscious mind doesn’t really like to change that much, as well as it has a “gatekeeper” (your conscious mind) to keep out all those radical thoughts that go against the grain of your subconscious. And it is your subconscious that is consistently putting out an energetic signal about money (either good or bad) to which the Law of Attraction can’t help but respond.

So, what you want to do is teach your subconscious mind how to attract money and you may already be trying to do this by reciting money affirmations. Now, I will admit that money affirmations do eventually work, but they take huge amounts of continual effort to get them past your conscious mind’s resistance.

A better way to teach your subconscious mind how to attract money is to use something called silent subliminals that go straight past your conscious mind to get directly absorbed by your subconscious mind because the “gatekeeper” (your conscious mind) can’t hear the affirmations, so they don’t get discredited. This takes off a huge layer of resistance to your affirmations.

But, even if you use the silent subliminals, you still must use “targeted subliminals” that address many of today’s negative money beliefs in a safe and gentle fashion. Why? Because, again, no matter how many money affirmations you do for a “large sum of money,” if one of your “negative social beliefs around money” is that people with money are bad and greedy, then you’re not going to get that large sum of money because you don’t want to be a “bad, greedy” person. So, your ship is sunk before it even gets afloat, and the sad part about this is that most people don’t even know their ship has a hole in it! Why? Because most people are not aware of the negative social beliefs they’ve picked up from society. That’s why it’s important to find and use affirmations that address these beliefs and gently “coax” your subconscious into feeling good around having money.

Once you know how to attract money by addressing your specific subconscious barriers to having money, you’re set up to use the Law of Attraction for money successfully because then your mind goes on “auto pilot” and simply works to attract money. It knows how to manifest money even when you’re sleeping because it’s sending out an energetic signal that “money is good” and that “you are deserving” and the Law of Attraction has no choice but to respond because the Law of Attraction is all about energy. This is the easiest and most effective way to learn how to attract money using the Law of Attraction.

How To Change An Existing Employment Contract

If you want to change an employee’s terms and conditions of employment, you will need to get their agreement first. Otherwise, the employee may be entitled to sue for breach of contract, or resign and claim constructive dismissal. You must tell the employee in writing about any changes no later than one month after you have made the change. Do changes have to be in writing? Agreed changes don’t necessarily have to be in writing. However if they alter the terms in your ‘written statement of employment particulars’,

your employer must give you another written statement showing what has changed within a month of the change. Employee Enforcement of the Right Employees have certain rights. These rights are enforceable by law: The right of fair treatment regardless of age, race, religion, gender, disabilities, or sexual preferences The right to equal treatment, also with regard to wages The right no be dismissed without proper cause and the correct procedures The right not to get fired for giving birth to a child Employees also have the right to a proper written notice time for termination of their work agreement in relation to the period employed Employees have the right for compensation when they are retrenched Safe workplace Terminating the Employment ContractBoth employer and employee can terminate the employment contract according to the terms contained within it. Either side can make a complaint against the other.

Breach-of-Contract Claims Both employers and employees can be in breach of a contract of employment. A breach of contract happens when either employee or your employer breaks one of the terms. If an employee continues to work under these changes without objecting, they may be regarded as having accepted the changes. Not all the terms of a contract are written down. A breach may be of a verbally agreed term, a written term, or an ‘implied’ term of a contract. Employer would normally use a county court for a breach of contract claim. The only way an employer would be able to make an application to an Employment Tribunal is in response to a breach of contract claim that an employee has made. The most common breaches of contract by an employee are when they quit without giving (or working) proper notice, or when they go to work for a competitor when their contract doesn’t allow it. Our Employment Law DocumentsAvailable documents include employment contract templates, as well as a director contract template and a range of employment policies. Our documents are designed for use in England and Wales. Our Contract of Employment Template is easy to customize to your business’ requirements.

They provide comprehensive legal protection, whilst avoiding excessive legal jargon. They have been designed with ease-of-use in mind. To this end, they include guidance notes. They are excellent value and available for immediate download. All the templates have been drafted by a team of Solicitors and Barristers who are expert in the field of employment.

If you want to change an employee’s terms and conditions of employment, you will need to get their agreement first. Otherwise, the employee may be entitled to sue for breach of contract, or resign and claim constructive dismissal. You must tell the employee in writing about any changes no later than one month after you have made the change. Do changes have to be in writing? Agreed changes don’t necessarily have to be in writing. However if they alter the terms in your ‘written statement of employment particulars’,

your employer must give you another written statement showing what has changed within a month of the change. Employee Enforcement of the Right Employees have certain rights. These rights are enforceable by law: The right of fair treatment regardless of age, race, religion, gender, disabilities, or sexual preferences The right to equal treatment, also with regard to wages The right no be dismissed without proper cause and the correct procedures The right not to get fired for giving birth to a child Employees also have the right to a proper written notice time for termination of their work agreement in relation to the period employed Employees have the right for compensation when they are retrenched Safe workplace Terminating the Employment ContractBoth employer and employee can terminate the employment contract according to the terms contained within it. Either side can make a complaint against the other.

Breach-of-Contract Claims Both employers and employees can be in breach of a contract of employment. A breach of contract happens when either employee or your employer breaks one of the terms. If an employee continues to work under these changes without objecting, they may be regarded as having accepted the changes. Not all the terms of a contract are written down. A breach may be of a verbally agreed term, a written term, or an ‘implied’ term of a contract. Employer would normally use a county court for a breach of contract claim. The only way an employer would be able to make an application to an Employment Tribunal is in response to a breach of contract claim that an employee has made. The most common breaches of contract by an employee are when they quit without giving (or working) proper notice, or when they go to work for a competitor when their contract doesn’t allow it. Our Employment Law DocumentsAvailable documents include employment contract templates, as well as a director contract template and a range of employment policies. Our documents are designed for use in England and Wales. Our Contract of Employment Template is easy to customize to your business’ requirements.

They provide comprehensive legal protection, whilst avoiding excessive legal jargon. They have been designed with ease-of-use in mind. To this end, they include guidance notes. They are excellent value and available for immediate download. All the templates have been drafted by a team of Solicitors and Barristers who are expert in the field of employment.

Significance Of Hiring Employmentlawyers

Everybody is struggling to establish their career as the economy is going through some crises. For you to have a good job, you must double the effort that you usually do since employment competition is on the higher level now. Nevertheless, the economy isn’t always stable, and when recession sets in, businesses will be pushed to lay off a few employees. In lots of cities like New York, business abuses are undeniably present. As a matter of fact, a few workplaces are discriminating the jobless.

In the present times, individuals are not hired due to some reasons. Cronyism is just one of these reasons. Only those people who have connections are the ones who can simply get the job. As it is, it is harder for most New Yorkers to search for a job than to find a property. This is because the present unemployment rating is on the rise. It has also become harder for people to secure their current jobs.

Navigating the modern workplace is extremely tough that is why you need the help of NYC employment lawyer. When it comes to employment and civil litigation matters, they are the ones who can help employees from large and small companies. Usually, their services aren’t just limited to the local community because they give it internationally also. Employees’ race, age, sex, disability and religion discrimination is not new to them. Businesses will offer people a chance instead of stereotyping others through their assistance.

Whether your case involves harassment, gender equality issues, sexual harassment, breach of contract, executive compensation, or problems within partnerships, the employment lawyers can surely assist you. Counseling and advice for financial institutions and also other companies in different states, assistance concerning new business initiatives, acquisitions, joint ventures and the likes, drafting and revising employee handbooks, as well as other employment-related documents are also offered by the employmentattorney. What they do is to maintain a sense of fairness and equality among all employees. They prevent businesses from abusing their authority to merely undermine the rights of their employees. Through them, every staff would be treated with utmost professionalism. Keep in mind that laws are implemented so that both parties can benefit.

Other than the above mentioned services, employment lawyers are also helping out companies and businesses in keeping a strong connection to their employees. Several companies give their employees “value exchange. It turns the workplace into an enjoyable and engaging environment for workers to do better in their work. This is to turn the workplace into a different environment. Apart from providing employees a sense of freedom, this will also help them to become productive as they are very pleased with what they’re doing.
When it comes to legal issues regarding your business and job, it is best to have the help of the employmentattorney. They know how discrimination revolves around a certain workplace for both social and professional classes. Additionally, they can be of service to financially incapacitated small businesses that are bombarded with legal issues. With the aid of their expertise, skills and experience in civil legal actions, you can be sure that you’re in the safe zone. To discuss things up regarding your legal issues, you can personally visit their office.

Duty Of Care In Torts Law

Duty of care in Donaghue -v- Stevenson 1932 was defined as exercising such care out of the box due in such ‘acts or omissions which you may reasonably foresee is planning to injure persons so directly affected which you ought reasonably to obtain them in contemplation’ and Caparo Industries -v- Dickman 1990 referred and situations whereby it may be fair, just, and reasonable to impose.

This duty is owed to 1 in physical proximity: e.g., in Haseldine -v – Daw 1941 to user of a lift negligently repaired, Buckland -v- Guilford Gas Light 1941 to child electrocuted by low cables upon climbing a tree, although not with a mother for shock nor for miscarriage to a single who had previously been being who the motive force along with the rider couldn’t to have known which were around in King -v- Phillips 1953 and Bourhill -v- Young 1942; so they can one out of legal proximity: e.g., in Donaghue -v- Stevenson 1932 for illness of consumer from manufacturer’s drink purchased by another, and not if immune as public policy in Hill -v- Chief Constable 1988, or as barristers or judges – Saif -v- Sydney Mitchell 1980; as well as to one with blood-ties: e.g., in McLoughlin -v- O’Brien 1982 to a mother who by news of accident ‘it was obvious that you will find affected’ ~it may be owed for financial decrease in special professional relationships -Mutual Life Assurance -v- Evett 1971, for careless words not provided clear as being without responsibility -Hadley Byrne -v- Heller & Partners 1964, and for serious nervous shock -Reilly -v- Merseyside RHA 1994.

The injury, additionally, if reasonably foreseeable is -Fardon -v- Harcourt 1932, negligence may entitle to damages, even punitive, Rookes -v- Bernard 1964, although if contemptuously claimed to as few as the smallest coin of the realm, e.g., without costs and nominal in Constantine -v- Imperial London Hotels 1944.

Circumstances in which a duty of care can be breached, except in the case of specific torts like libel or trespass -or underneath the Rylands -v- Fletcher rule where lawfully but at your own peril manufactured any unnatural by using land and excluding cases of immunity and circumstances the place where a statutory duty properly exercised infringes the right -such as the disturbance brought on by the noise of aircraft taking of or landing – however , not if improperly exercised: Fisher -v- Ruislip-Northwood UDC 1945, such circumstances can be regardless if a risk is know and never objected to: Smith -v- Charles Baker & Son 1891, indeed in which a risk is known and has now been consented to: Bowater -v- Rowley Regis Corp. 1944 ~even if you have contributory negligence: Stapley -v- Gypsum Mines Ltd 1953 -indeed even if despite instructions.

The typical is that of the ‘reasonable man’; if injury was risked: Bolton -v- Stone 1951 ~6 times in 3 decades meant not and also the degree of the danger is proportional as far as of care required; the seriousness of the injury risked too is proportional the amount of care necessary: Paris -v- Stepney BC 1951 -more to employee blind within a eye, rather than the total nevertheless the sort of the injury on such basis as: British Railways Board. -v- Herrington 1972; a social value whether justified danger: in Fisher failure were justified in war-time black-out to get up shaded lights to protect yourself from public nuisance to the cyclist, in Watt -v- Hertfordshire CC 1954 buying the wrong vehicle in this area of accident was justified by the valuable time that is going to have already been lost in enabling there help; the cost-benefit consideration: in Latimer -v- AEC 1953 to have done in excess of reasonable could have made raise the risk too remote by comparison -except should there be a statutory duty including in the Health & Safety Acts; that standard in the example of an expert’s negligence is, instead -Latimer, of an ‘reasonable expert’.

The link between the breach of duty as well as the resultant damage have to be proven to exist ought to be fact or perhaps a couple of law. Hmo’s is susceptible to the ‘but for’ rule: in Barnett -v- Chelsea etc. Hospital etc. 1968 breach by the failure on the doctor to call hasn’t been the caused of death, McWilliams -v- Sir Arrol 1962 failed since the safety-belt would not are actually worn if supplied, in Cutler -v- Vauxhall motors 1971 the operation on a graze had been recently ordered on an ulcer on the site than me and would be a pre-existing condition; but, just isn’t broken a causative link by way of consecutive cause and did not lessen a subsequent injury the initial factors in Baker -v- Willoughby 1970, nor necessarily disentitle multiple causes when on the balance of probabilities the link considerably was the explanation: McGhee -v- National Coal Board 1973; where harm or some of it is coming from a third party’s breach the ‘but for’ rule still refers to whether he type of injury happens to be seen: Hogan -v Betinck Colliers 1949.

Aforementioned only applies in the event the breach isn’t too remote, plus it wasn’t in Wieland -v- Cyril Lord Carpets 1969 the fact that fall elsewhere and later had resulted through the necessity to discard bi-focal glasses brought on by the driver’s negligence; the special sensitivity in the claimant wouldn’t matter -‘egg-shell skull’ rule: Robinson -v- Mailbox 1974 -‘one has to take the victim as he finds him’; inside Wagonmound 1961 during the time of the breach that oil spilled could burn on sea-water could hardly reasonably, as well as in Doughty -v- Turner Mfg. 1964 as a result of state expertise, are actually foreseen; employing Bradford -v- Robinson Rentals 1967 the frostbite was on account of providing a van without having a heater.

The claimant’s proof can go on to the defendant: Steer -v- Durable Rubber 1956; no less than some evidence is necessary of negligence even if ‘facts speak for themselves’ -they will not in case the claimant can’t say so what happened: Wakelin -v- LSWR 1886, negligence could be inferred from lack of explanation by defendant, for virtually any by claimant legally Reform (Contributory Negligence) Act 1945 proportionate reduction is made.