Yes, and the EIN usually comes with it. Here's what has to be checked before you build on it.

A contractor walks off, keeps your equipment, or wants full pay for half the work. What your agreement controls and the mistakes that make it worse.

A trial period before a sale protects the buyer. Without the right documents, it can leave the seller with an employee, a partner, or a claim they didn't plan for.

A buyer's purchase agreement, a big client's standard terms, an NDA they call non-negotiable. What to read first and what's usually worth pushing back on.

Consultants reuse templates, models, and tools across clients. Whether you can depends on what your contract says about who owns the work.

A member wants out, or you want them out. What your operating agreement controls, how a buyout gets taxed, and the paperwork that makes it final.

Incapacity stops a solo business faster than death does. Here's the minimum that keeps it running.

The agreement doesn't determine classification, but it does determine who owns the work.

Buying a share of a company means inheriting its documents and its problems. Here's the checklist.

Without a buy-sell provision, you may find yourself in business with your partner's heirs. Here's how to avoid it.

Handshake deals work until they don't. Here's the short list of terms that prevent most disputes.

Without a mechanism in your operating agreement, an absent partner keeps their interest indefinitely.

A personal guarantee sets aside your entity's protection for that obligation. Here's what to negotiate.

Loan applications stall over paperwork problems more often than credit ones. Here's what underwriting checks.

Equal ownership and unequal effort is the most common source of partner disputes. Here's how to structure around it.

Single-member LLCs are the ones that most need an operating agreement, for reasons that have nothing to do with partners.

Template operating agreements are silent on the questions that actually cause disputes. Here's what to check.

Three ways to move an entity between states, with different tax and continuity consequences.

LOIs are called non-binding and rarely are entirely. Here's what to settle before signing one.

Titling a vehicle to your business affects registration, insurance, and lending. Here's what to check first.