I am planning on purchasing a small restaurant in Edgewater Colorado. I am purchasing all of the equipment and material in the building. The building will not be mine. I recently became aware that the current owner is behind on her back taxes. This concerns me. First off all, she has an LLC which owns the Okoboji Inn. She will be taking this LLC with her to wherever she is going. I am opening up a fresh LLC to buy the Okoboji Inn. I am wondering if my new LLC and the purchase of the Okoboji Inn will free me from her back issues. If not, will buying just the assests that are in the building and close the doors on the Okoboji Inn, therefore opening a new restaurant with a new name and everything free me from the current owner and her IRS issues. Please advise. Thank You

Cullen

First, congratuations on your new business venture. I highly, highly suggest you contact an attorney to determine your legal options with regard to all aspects of the deal. This large of an investment is not something you should assume you can see all the red flags that a trained lawyer could see - though it looks like you're asking the right questions! You can find an attorney through the locator service on LawInfo’s home page at: http://www.lawinfo.com/.

You can also browse through the information in LawInfo’s Free Legal Resource Center here: http://www.lawinfo.com/index.cfm/fus...lient.consumer, or search for your particular topic here: http://resources.lawinfo.com/index.html.

http://www.lawinfo.com/index.cfm/fus...lient.business

Good luck!

Hello,
I am williams.I am planning to purchase a big restaurant in chicago.I am putting a lot of investment in it.Will it be okay for me?Give me any suggestion.
====================
williams

If you are planning on putting a lot of money into something like this I would suggest contacting an attorney.

You should check to see if there are any liens filed on the business - if so, it may affect whether you can buy the assets free and clear. Typically when a lien is filed, it is on all the assets of the business. If there are lients, you may want to check with the seller and find out about subordinating the liens. Even if there aren't liens, if it is state taxes (and maybe federal, the issue just hasn't come up for me yet), you may be seen as a successor to the old business and therefore, successor to the taxes if you set everything up just right. Hope this helps.

Elizabeth Lewis, Esq.
www.eclewis.com
720-530-3405

You want to look at inventory records, expense and tax reports for the past 5 years, plus the P&L.

Also have a CPA go over the records with you because there is a big difference in being an employee of the business and being the owner.

You will also need to check with your state's labor department, that's where the rubber will meet the road especially when it comes to hiring practices. Does the previous owner owe the state back employer taxes? What is the business structure, sole proprietor-corporation-?

What about liens? Are any of the creditors squawking about late payments? Don't think a creditor will not close you down, they will and can. Are there any lawsuits that have not been disclosed by the owner?

Take a close look at this before you make an offer. Besides, a restaurant should not have 'receivables'! Sounds as if you might want to get some professional help because this is not a business to go into blind.

Have you purchased the restaurant yet? If not, I 'd be happy to do a free consultation with you...

Bill Peters
www.denverslawfirm.net
(303) 916-3088