Legal Questions?

[Raine Dragon]

I'm currently working on an interactive forum site for teens and young people. I spent 3 years working for a similar project under a different manager and taking what I learned during that time I have decided to go on my own and put forward my own try at this. Unfortunately, I am not 100% sure what I need to do legally. My site will be generating revenue from both ads, and digital item sales. I'm unsure if legally I need to file as a business to do so. And, if so, I'm looking at filing as an LLC, but again, am unsure of the exact process.

[DeenaEsq]

Well, yes, if you're going to target teens, you really do need to form a company where you're not personally liable if it blows up at you. An LLC is generally recommended in smaller businesses because of its flow-through taxation (meaning you get taxed once instead of twice). I have covered a lot of this on my blog. You may want to take a look at it for a place to start.

The other thing is that if you're working in a high risk business where you're collecting information from people under the age of 18, you MUST hire yourself a lawyer to write your privacy policy and terms. It's a tricky thing and you can't use the "free" generator programs that are out there...

If you want to talk more, feel free to PM me.

Deena
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Any opinions are offered without knowledge of the specific law of your jurisdiction and with only the limited information provided in your post. No advice given here should be reasonably relied upon by you or any third party without consulting an attorney who is aware of all of the facts and law surrounding your situation. Any advice given here is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship in any way.

[SeattleCPA]

Just to clarify, by default an LLC is treated as either a disregarded entity if there's a single owner... or as a partnership if there are multiple owners. But LLCs can also be treated as corporations, including S corporations...