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In US law, corporations are organizations authorized to act as a legal entity. US law also recognizes another legal status for a company, called a ‘limited liability corporation’, or LLC for short. LLCs are not separate legal entities like regular corporations, but they do provide some legal protections for owners. LLCs can be insured separately from owners, and they also limit the personal liability of owners. If someone sues an LLC company, their suit is against the company, not the company owners. Owner risk from the suit is commonly limited to the value of their investment in the company – with some exemptions and conditions. Unlike corporations, LLCs are not taxed on their own. LLCs are ‘pass-through’ tax entities; profits and losses pass through to the owners’ personal tax returns. Creating an LLC is relatively simple, involving state filings and modest fees.
 

These comparisons to board games might help you understand patents, trademarks and copyright – the main forms of intellectual property. Imagine a game rule that says, you can make up a new rule. If the banker allows the rule, you get exclusive use it for 20 turns. If others like it, they must pay you to use it during those turns. That’s roughly like a patent; patents protect new and useful ideas for a time, so inventors have a chance to profit. Trademarks are about names and designs that identify & distinguish things. Picture a game where only one player gets to use the label ‘HotelsIncluded’ to describe the properties they sell – which always have a hotel. Other players could sell property with hotels, but can’t use ‘HotelsIncluded’ to describe them. That’s the basic idea of trademarks. Finally, picture a game that includes blank cards. Anything a player writes or draws on a card becomes theirs to own, sell or trade. Since their original ideas are fixed & written down, their ownership rights are protected. That’s a loose analogy for copyright – creators of original works that are fixed & tangible have legal rights to those works.
 

If a marriage with children is legally ended by divorce, access, time and legal responsibility for the children – ‘custody’ – must be decided. Custody arrangements include physical custody, parental visitation rights, and legal custody. . Physical custody arrangements define where the children will reside; this could be with one parent or both, if proximity allows normal routines and schooling. Physical custody may affect visitation; if children live solely with one parent, the other may have the right to visitation or parenting time. Legal custody includes the right (and obligation) to make decisions about schooling, medical care, religion and other upbringing choices. Legal custody may also be jointly shared by both parents, or solely awarded to one. Custody arrangements frequently affect financial responsibility arrangements, such as child support. Custody decisions can be complicated, and legal advice is frequently required.
 

When a lender releases an existing mortgage for a payoff that is less or ‘short’ of the total amount due, the transaction is called a ‘short sale.’ Lenders sometimes accept short sales as an alternative to repossession and foreclosure, which can be expensive. Likewise, a short sale avoids foreclosure and credit-rating reductions for the seller. Short sales may be prompted by a seller’s inability to make payments, or the property value dropping below the mortgage balance – ‘underwater’ – or possibly both. Short sales are usually initiated by the homeowner, but lender approval is required to proceed. Buyers typically negotiate short sales with sellers, but lender approval is also required to finalize a short sale. Short sales are more complex and may take longer than conventional purchases.
 

When a couple marries, they gain the legal right to do certain things together, such as own property or owe debts. Divorce is the legal termination of marriage; the legal status, responsibilities and arrangements of the married couple are cancelled. Divorcing requires that these all be resolved in some way. Property and debt has be divided. Custody, visitation and support of children must be addressed. If the divorce settlement commits one spouse to financial support of the other after marriage — called ‘alimony’ — that must be defined as well. Legally-acceptable reasons for divorce may include both ‘no-fault’, where parties divorce without officially blaming each other, and fault-based divorce, where individuals’ actions are accepted as grounds. While there are other forms of change in marital status, such legal separation and religious annulment, they are not the same thing as legal divorce.

US law allows courts to declare individuals and businesses bankrupt, allowing them to settle debts without full payment. Filing bankruptcy is a legal action asking the court to make this declaration; deciding to file should account for: –Debts that are owed –Assets that could be affected by the decision –Assets that are exempt from the decision, which vary by state. –Eligibility for bankruptcy discharge, based on your means. Some types of bankruptcy, like Chapter 7, include a ‘means test.’ Filing typically involves taking a credit-counseling course, then completing a Bankruptcy Petition with the US Court. Full proceedings will require additional forms and information, and usually at least one meeting with the bankruptcy trustee. The full course of settlement will vary; objections or motions by creditors, winding up of secured debts, and other matters may differ based on circumstances. The final step is completing a debtor education course before the court issues a discharge.
 

Filing for bankruptcy starts with disclosing all financial information. This is done on a form called a ‘bankruptcy petition’, provided by the US Bankruptcy Court. The bankruptcy case starts when the bankruptcy petition form is filed. Both individuals and businesses can file bankruptcy petitions. These can be voluntary – done by the person or business – or involuntary, filed against the person or business by someone else. Petition details include the kind of bankruptcy – the ‘Chapter’ – plus details of assets, legal status and other personal or business information. As a US Court legal instrument, filing a bankruptcy petition is a legal decision, with penalties attached for perjury or fraud. The bankruptcy petition is the first of many forms and steps in a complete bankruptcy case.
 

When a person or business concludes that meeting their debts is not realistic, they may file for bankruptcy in Federal Bankruptcy court. A bankruptcy filing places an automatic stay on debt-related actions and judgements, including wage garnishment — court-ordered seizure of part of someone’s wages. This temporary stay of financial actions — before the case is actually settled — is the accurate meaning of ‘bankruptcy protection.’ Bankruptcy protection gives the debtor immediate relief from actions, and protection of their assets while the case is being decided. Owed parties cannot start, enforce or appeal actions. The automatic stay generally continues until the case closes, or the debtor receives a discharge. As bankruptcy is Federally administered, bankruptcy protection is very powerful.
 

Bankruptcy is a set of legally-defined ways for individuals or businesses to settle debts without full payment, by following rules that govern their assets and financial actions for a period of time. There are two broad types, liquidation and reorganization. Under liquidation, the party in debt agrees that their eligible properties and assets can be taken and sold to pay back debt. Some types of property are exempted. Under reorganization, the party in debt retains their property, but commits to repay some portion of the debt, typically over time. While it provides relief from debt, bankruptcy has serious and long-term effects, affecting credit ratings, the cost of future borrowing, eligibility for financing and purchases, and more. Bankruptcy decisions in the US are Federal. The US Constitution authorizes Congress to establish ‘uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States’. States are allowed to define exempt and non-exempt properties, but they do not make bankruptcy judgements.
 

A will is a written document that defines how your assets will be distributed after you die. Trusts are legal arrangements that involve a separate legal entity to hold and distribute assets — during your life, after your life, or both. As an alternative to wills, trusts frequently provide additional controls and protections over probate, terms, taxes and other legal processes. In simple terms, a will defines what becomes of your assets after you cease to be a legal, living person. A trust sets up a separate legal entity of some sort, with instructions and rules defined to make that trust do what you want it to do with those assets. The trust may have to become the legal owner of assets or properties – including real estate – to be effective at this function. In general, trusts are more complicated than wills, frequently more expensive, but may be able to improve your control over probate and distribution, and to better protect and direct your assets to the purposes you define.