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Kevin McLauchlan asked about how being an unpaid participant in a spouse's
business " might it affect a full-time, long-time employee of some unrelated
company who, at some point, became an officer of the spouse's little
corporation, on paper, anyway?...It's a nice thought that you could step in
and keep the company running if the spouse was hurt or killed, rather than
watch it wither and shrivel during probate... but it's not nice if being on
the wrong side of the corporate veil paints a bull's-eye on your back and a
"Seized" sign on your house.
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Kevin:
If this kind of scenario is even remotely a possibility, one should
discretely consult a lawyer (are they called solicitors in Canada?) and have
the business (and the participants) protected from such possibilities by
making said business a separate legal entity such as an LLC (legal limited
corporation) or other form of limited corporation. Any suits against said
entity should then legally be limited to the assets of said entity, and not
include the domestic domicile of the owner(s).
For instance, my sisters and I inherited a house, which is now a rental
property. We incorporated said property into an LLC to protect us legally
from any such possibilities. If someone sued, we could lose the house, but
not anything else.
Margaret Cekis, Johns Creek GA
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