I am sure this has been asked before, but search came up with nothing.

I want to move my business to an LLC. I just have some questions for those who have done this.

1) Did you go through a lawyer or do it yourself?
2) If you did it yourself, what website did you use?
3) What kind of cost am I looking at for this (approx)?

I am sure I'll have other questions. Thanks for all your help!

I used a lawyer. And I used a lawyer because I just do not believe in dealing with legal issues on my own .... I'm not a lawyer and even tho' I watch a lot of Law-n-Order, I am not going to risk missing "something" that will cost me in the long run.

Many CCer's have posted they've done their own LLC paperwork, so it can be done.

Just my personal opinion that legal issues should be handled by a lawyer, medical issues should be handled by a doctor, etc......

I did it myself through the PA Dept. of State Corporation Bureau. It was $125 and I used the website www.paopen4business.state.pa.us/ It is a little confusing so I did a workshop at the Chamber of Commerce beforehand which I found very helpful. Good luck!

If you're not comfortable doing it yourself, Legalzoom can help for a pretty reasonable fee (I believe it's $99 + the state fee).

Some states have a minimum tax rate for LLCs so that's something to watch for. In CA the minimum LLC tax is $800/year.

$800/year is a lot, but considering the higher cost of living in CA and your resulting ability to charge higher prices, it's certainly doable, especially when you consider the already high barriers to entry to starting a business here -- if you start a business, you are probably pretty serious about it.

True. I was serious about it, but I've since given up, at least on a cake business. But my defeat was a lack of available kitchen space. I've gone back to free cakes for friends and family.

Thanks everyone for the advice. Guess it means more research. Nothing wrong with having the knowledge BEFORE writing the check.

I went through legalzoom.com and it cost about $250 with state fees. I did it because i had to hurry and was at the legal side of it. I wish that i had talked to my business banker first who helped me set up my business account as she had the paperwork and the phone numbers/addresses to go to do it myself (the state corporation commission, tax form for a tax number, form for the trade name). It would have saved some money but meant running around to different agencies. So legalzoom is a 'service' that you pay for the ease of staying put at your computer with a credit card

It was probably $250 because you had LegalZoom act as your registered agent, which costs $149 for the first year and $69/year after that. All that means is that if your business is sued or served a summons, the court will contact LegalZoom, who will then forward the info to you. You can act as your own registered agent for free without any ill effects as long as you check your mail regularly (if you are sued you will probably need to hire a lawyer anyway).