Remember To Sign All Your Documents Correctly

BATTLECALL GUEST EXPERT: Attorney William Bronchick Of LegalWiz.com

OK, you set up and LLC or corporation to protect you, then you end up losing protection because you don't sign your name correctly. Common things I see is a person signing leases and contracts with their own name instead of on behalf of their LLC. The correct ways to sign are as follows:

"Joe Investor as Manager for Quality Property Investments, LLC"

"Quality Property Investments, LLC, by Joe Investor, it's Manager"

"Joe Investor as Member of Quality Property Investments, LLC"

"Quality Property Investments, LLC, by Joe Investor, it's authorized Member"

"Quality Property Investments, Inc., by Joe Investor, President"

"Joe Investor as Vice-President of Quality Property Investments, Inc."

Note, if your LLC has a manager (or managers), a manager must sign; if it does not have a manager, then any member can sign. Check your LLC organizational documents to be sure.

No, You CAN'T File that Lien!

A common email question I get is, "Can I file a lien on a property if someone owes me money?" The answer generally is, "No, you cannot." In order to file a lien against a property, you must have a court judgment or a lien voluntarily signed by the owner, such as a mortgage lien or deed of trust. If someone owes you money, you cannot simply file a lien against their property until you go to court, file a lawsuit and win. Then, and only then, you can take a certified copy of the court judgment and record it in the county land records and create a lien on the debtor's property.

The type of lien that CAN be filed without a court judgment is a mechanic's lien. A mechanic's lien is a claim against a specific property for work done or materials provided for that specific property. Each state has different rules and laws on the procedure, which can be found at www.nationallienlaw.com. In general, a mechanics lien only lasts a short time, usually less than a year, then the person filing the lien must commence a lawsuit or the lien will be null and void.

For more information, please visit LegalWiz.com