Every dental professional must have a legitimate business form to operate their practice. This is true whether the dentist is practicing alone, or as part of a larger partnership. Typically, dental professionals structure their practices as an S corporation (pass through taxation). In North Carolina, dentists may utilize a Professional Association (P.A.); or a Professional Limited Liability Company (PLLC). These corporate forms function very similarly. An attorney experienced with organizing professional entities for doctors can help distinguish the subtle differences. More importantly, the dentist should rely on the lawyer to properly form the company. This includes obtaining approval from the North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners (sometimes a time consuming process); and then filing articles of organization with the North Carolina Secretary of State. Additionally, the entity will require an operating agreement or by-laws, organizational minutes, and issue shares or membership interest to the company’s owners. At Lake Norman Law Firm, we make this experience very easy for the doctors. We handle every component of the entity formation at a very reasonable flat fee. We process all paperwork, procure the entities tax id number (or EIN), and provide a corporate book for organizational purposes. Perhaps most importantly, unlike most general business attorneys, we cater our forms to dental practices. We believe that dentists should be represented by lawyers who understand the nuances of their profession. It doesn’t make sense for a dentist to execute boilerplate organizational paperwork that would also be utilized by a restaurant, accountant, or contractor.
Please see this Q&A section for more information on entity organization and utilizing companies for asset protection and lawsuit prevention: