Explain why that business form will work well with the business that you’re starting.

Research/Drafting Assignment Research/Drafting Assignment
You will choose one of the two assignments (Will Drafting or Business Formation) below to complete. One gives you the option to work in teams, but you may complete either on your own. The assignment will be due via the Canvas assignment submission function by 11:55 pm on August 13th. Scoring sheets have been posted for the two assignments, so you will know specifically what I am looking for when I score them.
Feel free to reach out with questions
Will Drafting Exercise
For the purposes of this exercise, you are to assume that you are an associate in the law firm of LeBon, Rhodes & Taylor. You have been assigned a wealthy client, Jeff Stone, who has come to you for the purposes of putting together his last will and testament. You should put together a will for Mr. Stone based on the instructions that he will give in the paragraphs below. You are to draft the will as though you are the attorney representing Jeff Stone writing out his last will and testament, meaning that the language should be clear, and should not simply repeat the instructions below. The following are his instructions –
So, here’s what I want you to do. I had a will before, but I’m not sure what I did with it. I want you to draft me a new will. Before I start, I want all of my debts and funeral expenses to be taken care of as soon as possible out of the proceeds of the estate before distribution. Before I break down the estate, I want to give some things out. I’d like to give $5,000 to the SPCA – I don’t remember what those letters stand for, but they take care of stray dogs and stuff. I’d also like to give my baseball card collection to Todd Herron. I’d like to give $500 to Denise Huxtable, and thirteen cents to Matthew Keller, in repayment of a debt that money will never truly repay. I’d like to give my collection of Nike sneakers to Ansley Herron. Finally, I’d like to give $20,000 to the American Cancer Society.
I’ve been married twice. My previous wife’s name is Shirley Feeney. She gets nothing. I had two kids with Shirley, Lenny and Squiggy. Squiggy’s real name is Charles. Squiggy’s a good boy, but Lenny has been trouble to me all my life. Lenny gets nothing. Squiggy can share with my kids from my present marriage to Maggie – Mike, Carol and Ben. I also adopted a kid, Luke, don’t see him much anymore. Give him half of what the other kids are getting.
Maggie gets half my estate after I give out some things, and the kids will share one of the remaining quarters, based on the way I told you to do it. I want the remaining quarter to be split two ways – half will go into trust to care for my parents, Donna and Alex Stone, should I die before them. In that trust, the income from it will be paid by the Executor directly to cover any expenses coming from the care of my parents. The principal can be invaded at the discretion of the Executor for purposes of emergencies to my parents – in case they have to go into a home or something. If they die before me, that share goes to the kids. The other half of the remaining quarter will be given to my loyal butler, Lynn Belvedere, for his faithful service over these many years. If Maggie dies before me, then half of her share will go to the kids and the other half will go to the American Red Cross. If the kids die before me, set it up so that either their kids get it if they have any, or that their money is shared by the other kids. If I get any money after my death, I want it to just be treated as part of the estate.
I’d like you to name Thornton Melon as the Executor to my estate. If Mr. Melon will not serve then I would like one of the following (in order of preference) to serve:
Larry Appleton
Balki Bartokomous
Mary Anne Spencer
I’d also like it noted that anyone who contests this will automatically gets nothing. I think that’s called an in terrorem clause.
You are to follow these instructions completely in preparing a last will and testament for Mr. Stone. I have linked a few sample wills for you to follow. You are to work alone on this assignment. This is a draft of a will, but I would like you to name three uninterested witnesses (fake names and addresses) to witness the will. Make sure that you protect for contingencies, such as portions of the will being declared unenforceable. It will be typed in 12 point Times New Roman font and will be due by 11:55 pm on August 13, 2021. I cannot respond to general questions (What do I have to do?, Is this all I have to do?, Would you look at this and give me feedback?) as responses would give you an advantage over others that did not ask these questions. Please do not submit your assignment as a draft (“I just want to make sure I’m doing this right”), as for me to review yours would be to give you an advantage over others that have not had it reviewed by me. I will be happy to answer questions about the assignment and the submission. Submit the final assignment as an attachment to the Canvas assignment submission function. There will be no extensions granted for this assignment, and 10 points will be deducted from your score (this will be worth 100 points) for each day that it is late.
Business Formation Exercise
To culminate our studies of Business Forms we are going to take the practical step of forming your own business. You will do the following:
Decide what type of business to form (Businesses that participate in illegal activities, just like in the real world, will not be permitted.
Choose a name for your New Jersey business that has not been selected in the past – you can go to New Jersey Business Name Availability Check (link in this module) to check the name’s availability. You will need to include with your submission a screenshot/cut & paste of the screen that indicates that the name is available. You will not be expected to pay a fee for any services related to this assignment.
You will choose among the following, which type of business form to use: Partnership, Corporation, Limited Liability Partnership, Limited Liability Company, Limited Partnership, or Professional Corporation. You may not form a franchise or a Sole Proprietorship.
You will prepare formation documents for your business, either Articles of Incorporation or a Partnership Agreement. Examples of these types of documents specific to these businesses are available in your text and on the Internet. Contact me if you have difficulty locating them. If the agreement requires personal information, I ask that you list your name, but use fake addresses. Again, reach out to me if you have questions.
You will prepare a report for me, which will be a minimum of four pages (double spaced, Times New Roman 12 pt. font – the formation documents are not part of the four pages), which will include the following:
Explain what type of business you will be running. Include how big you expect it to be, why you think the business will be successful, who will supervise the work being done, where you plan to locate the business and why you decided to choose that location.
Explain what type of business form you will be using. You’ll need to explain why that business form will work well with the business that you’re starting. You will also have to explain why you’ve eliminated each of the other business forms. (You will lose significant points if you don’t do this.)
To complete this exercise, you may work in groups of two. If you would like to work in a group of three, you will need my permission, which will only be granted with a compelling reason. Groups of larger than three will not be permitted. You may also work on your own if you choose. If you have specific questions for me regarding this project, feel free to email and I will respond. I cannot respond to general questions (What do we have to do?, Is this all we have to do?, Would you look at this and give us feedback?) as responses would give these people/groups advantages over other groups. Please do not submit your assignment as a draft (“I just want to make sure I’m doing this right”), as for me to review yours would be to give you an advantage over others that have not had it reviewed by me. Again, I will be happy to answer questions about the assignment and the submission. You will submit the report, along with the formation documents via the Canvas assignment submission function by 11:00 pm on August 13th.

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