Legal advertising is a form of classified advertising usually designated by a State Law or Court system. Legal notices are produced for this purpose and sent for publishing in newspapers that would properly serve the public in a specified area. This is usually judged by the location of the parties involved or the geographical location of a property or business. The legal notices would then be published in the newspaper-classified section and after the full run, the newspaper will create an affidavit of publication.

Legal advertising comes in a variety of different forms, including Foreclosure Proceedings, Surrogate’s Court Citations, Orders of Liquor License, Summons with Notice (Real Estate and Matrimonial), Partition Notices of Sale, Orders of Name Change, LLC and LLP Notices of Formation, Orders to Show Cause, Co-Op Notices of Sale, Bankruptcy Notices, Real Estate Litigation, and Supplemental Summonses.

A notice of sale, also known as a notice of foreclosure, is the actual advertisement of a foreclosure auction that is to take place as designated by the court. In the advertisement, the location of the auction, the premises address, index number, names of the Plaintiffs/Defendants, and property description are most common. The notice of sale is published in local newspapers to give interested parties notice of the action.

An Affidavit of Publication is a sworn, written statement made in the presence of a notary public or a person who is authorized to administer an oath, attesting that the publication took place on specified days. Affidavits of Publication are used in legal proceedings and may be submitted in lieu of having a person appear in court.

Also known as the foreclosure sale, a foreclosure auction is when a real estate property is auctioned off in public at a Town/City Hall or Supreme/County Court. A judgment of foreclosure is set against an owner who defaults in paying his/her loan from a Bank. The proceedings ultimately lead to this public auction designated by the court.

Similar to the public notice given by publication, if a residence is outside a city limit a notice of foreclosure sale will be affixed to a board, casing, etc. in the Village/Town of the foreclosed residence and the Town/Village/City of the public auction twenty eight to thirty five days before the auction. If the property is located within the same Town/Village as the auction, the notice will only need to be posted in three public places. If it is in two different Towns/Villages the notice must be posted in six public places. These public locations are usually chosen to reach the largest number of potential buyers in a specific Town/Village. Therefore the notice would be posted in a location that is busy during the hours of nine to five, i.e. Town/Village Halls, Post Offices, Supermarkets, etc. Upon completion of the postings, a sworn affidavit will be made to attest to the locations where the notice of sale was posted during the specified time frame.

An LLC will be suspended if it does not comply with Section 206 of the Limited Liability Company Law.

A corporation is owned by a number of shareholders who elect directors and officers to oversee the business affairs, as well as make major decisions on behalf of the corporation. Corporations are directed to hold annual shareholders meetings and keep updated minutes of the meetings. Such meetings consist of adopting corporate by-laws, issuing stock certificates and preparing annual reports. Decisions are made by an elected Board of Directors. In most states, one person may be a shareholder, director and an officer of the corporation. Corporations are required to file franchise tax reports and pay franchise taxes annually. Tax requirements begin on the date of filing of the Certificate of Incorporation. For more information concerning New York State tax guidelines, please contact the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (http://www.tax.state.ny.us/), or call 1-800-225-5829.

An LLC (limited liability company) is owned by one or more members, or a class of members, with few restrictions as to who can be an owner or how many owners it may have. Unlike corporations, LLCs do not need to hold annual meetings, nor keep extensive corporate records, such as meeting minutes, etc. The ownership and LLC guidelines are contained within the company’s Operating Agreement, which should be adopted within 30 days of the filing of the Articles of Organization with the New York State Department of State. LLCs, unlike corporations, provide protection from personal responsibility for the debts and liabilities of the company, as personal assets of the members cannot be use to pay company debts. LLCs formed in the State of New York are required, pursuant to Section 206 of the NYS Limited Liability Company Law, to publish notice of formation of the Articles of Organization with two newspapers designated by the county clerk of the county in which the LLC is located, within 120 days after the filing of the initial Articles of Organization.

A C-corporation is a standard corporation, made up of a group of shareholders known as owners. The owners of a corporation elect a Board of Directors to oversee the major business affairs of the corporation. A C-corporation is required to file a corporate tax return and pay corporate tax for all profits (and losses). Sometimes, when profits from a standard corporation are distributed as dividends to shareholders, the shareholders are required to pay tax on those dividends as personal income tax, thus, there is a possibility of a double-tax to shareholders of a standard corporation. However, the benefits to forming a C-corporation are that it may be owned by anyone (partnerships, LLCs, or other C or S-corporations), and C-corporations can have an unlimited number of shareholders, with multiple classes of stock, and may have shareholders who are not US residents.

An S-corporation is also made up of a group of shareholders known as owners. Owners who wish to file for S-corporation status must timely file a Form 2553 Application with the Internal Revenue Service (please visit the IRS website at http://www.irs.gov for filing requirements for the Form 2553). S-corporations must file corporate tax returns, however, they are not required to pay taxes at the corporate level. Instead, the S-corporation’s profits are taxed through the shareholders of the corporation’s individual tax returns, and corporate taxes are therefore, paid by the individuals instead of the corporation as a whole. There are many restrictions placed on S-corporations. For instance, it cannot be owned by other corporations, LLCs or partnerships and it may only be owned by 100 shareholders or less. Additionally, all of the owners of an S-corporation must reside within the United States, it is required to have one class of stock.

A professional service corporation or professional limited liability company is a business which falls under one of the 47 professions licensed through the New York State Department of Education. Please visit the following website to inquire about these various professions (http://www.op.nysed.gov/pcorp.htm). A business entity wishing to do business as a professional service entity must comply with the Department of Education’s requirements, including obtaining a Certificate of Authority to do business as a professional service entity prior to the filing of the Certificate of Incorporation or Articles of Organization with the Department of State. Additional filing and service fees apply in obtaining this Certificate of Authority from the Department of Education. Upon receipt of the appropriate Certificate of Authority, a professional service entity may then file the Certificate of Incorporation or Articles of Organization with the New York State Department of State. Upon its filing, a certified copy of the said Certificate or Articles from the Department of State must then be filed within 30 days with the Professional Corporations Unit at the Department of Education.

No, the New York State Department of State will allow a conformed or faxed signature on most documents.

You may contact the New York State Department of State, Corporations Division, at (518) 473-2492, or by visiting their website at http://www.dos.state.ny.us.

Whether you are incorporating or forming an LLC within the State of New York, your business is required to obtain a Federal Tax ID Number (or Employer Identification Number) in order to file the required business taxes with the Internal Revenue Service and New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. If you have tax questions, please direct them to the Internal Revenue Service (http://www.irs.gov/) or the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (http://www.tax.state.ny.us/).

Many corporations and LLCs wish to obtain a corporate kit for their business, which is usually referred to as a “black beauty” or “corporate book.” This corporate kit is embossed with the corporation’s or LLC’s name and contains necessary labeled stock certificates, as well as a corporate seal. As corporations are required to hold annual meetings and keep minutes of these meetings, as well as annual reports and shareholder information, each kit contains dividers for these corporate documents. LLCs are not required to hold such annual meetings, but many businesses use these corporate kits to keep their business records, such as the Operating Agreement and original filing receipt, in one centralized location. It is the decision of the individual business entity to purchase a corporate kit, and it is not required.

In New York State, all business entities must designate the Secretary of State as agent upon whom process against it can be served. Also, an address must be provided to the Secretary of State to which the State can forward such process. Some business entities wish to appoint a Registered Agent in New York for this purpose. Some out-of-state corporations, which apply for authority to conduct business in the State of New York, will put the name and address of their Registered Agent in their Application for Authority, thereby stating a New York address for the forwarding of process from the Secretary of State. A Registered Agent is not mandated in New York State. It is a business entity’s choice to obtain such services.

Pursuant to New York State Limited Liability Company Law Section 206, within 120 days after the filing of the initial Articles of Organization, a limited liability company must publish a notice of formation of the Articles of Organization with two newspapers, who are designated by the county clerk of the county in which the LLC is located. The notice of formation is published once a week for six consecutive weeks, and the costs of publishing vary from county to county. The publications can range from $300 to $2,500. A Certificate of Publication must be filed with the Department of State upon completion of the six-week advertisement, along with the Affidavits of Publication from each newspaper. Advantage Legal offers publication services for all of your legal advertising needs. Please contact Kristen Smith or John Paul Roman for an estimated price quote.

Yes. Pursuant to NYS Limited Liability Company Law Section 802(b)(i), “within one hundred twenty days after the filing of the application for authority with the department of state, a copy of the same or a notice containing the substance thereof shall be published once each week for six successive weeks, in two newspapers of the county within this state in which the office of the foreign limited liability company is located, one newspaper to be printed weekly and one newspaper to be printed daily, to be designated by the county clerk.”

A Certificate of Good Standing is a document issued by the New York State Department of State setting forth that a corporation or LLC is in existence and authorized to conduct business in the State of New York and is in good standing and current with its required business filings.

A Certificate of Change may be filed with the NYS Department of State if a business entity wishes to change: (1) the county location within the State in which the office of the company is located; (2) the address which the Secretary of State shall forward copies of process accepted on the corporation’s behalf; or (3) changes to the designation or address of the corporation’s registered agent.

A Certificate of Amendment may be filed with the NYS Department of State if a business entity wishes to change the name of the business entity or substantive paragraphs contained within the original Certificate of Incorporation or Articles of Organization.

A Certificate of Assumed Name may be filed with the NYS Department of State authorizing an existing business entity to do business under another name within the State of New York, as designated by each specific county indicated on the Certificate of Assumed Name. The fees for each county selected in which a corporation may conduct business under an assumed name, in addition to the standard filing fee, are as follows: Counties within New York City (Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond counties) - $100.00 per county; all other counties $25.00. Please note that an entity may choose to conduct business under an assumed name in all 62 counties within New York State.

Please feel free to place an order for the formation of a corporation or LLC by completing our online application. Or you may contact Kristen Smith at ksmith@advantagelegal.com, or John Paul Roman at jroman@advantagelegal.com. You may also contact us by telephone at (631) 870-1005.

A court service company submits motions and miscellaneous filings to the court and the county clerk offices.

A motion is an application made to the court for relief to be reviewed by a Justice of the Court. The motion can be done either ex parte (without notice to the other side) or on notice to the other side. If done on notice, it must set forth a return date and must comply with the service requirements set forth in CPLR §2214 and §2215. If done ex parte, it is generally reviewed by a Clerk of the Supreme Court and then forwarded to a judge for a decision or signature.

Yes, a motion must have the required filing fee of $45.00 payable to the Clerk of the Court as well as a Request for Judicial Intervention (“RJI”) if it is the first motion being filed. The RJI fee is a $95.00 fee payable to the Clerk of the Court. For more information about New York State filing fees visit www.courts.state.ny.us/forms/index.shtml#1.

A decision is generally rendered by the Supreme Court in the form of an Order, Short Form Order or Memorandum. It will set forth the statement of facts of the motion and render a determination from the facts and the law of the case.

Motions are tracked for signature and then entered with the County Clerk’s Office.

This will vary from County to County. In some counties it will be one to two days, whereas in other counties it may take several weeks. The counties that take longer typically scan and image their documents before returning them.

Actually, it is known as Service of Process. It is the act of serving defendants and plaintiffs with legal papers. In doing so, the court establishes jurisdiction over individuals and/or corporations in court actions.

Only a person over the age of 18 years of age whom is not a party to the action can serve process. Advantage Legal has experienced, licensed process servers who can serve all your legal papers in accordance with all CPLR requirements.

In some parts of the Country, for instance New York City, a license is required to be a Process Server or to operate as a process service company. All our services in these areas are done by properly licensed individuals and their license numbers appear on all affidavits of service. Advantage Legal is a licensed process service company (NYC License # 1352016).

Advantage Legal services the entire United States. Our network of Process Servers throughout the country guarantees service of your legal papers will be attempted in a reasonable time in all 50 states.

Our in-house counsel along with our access to up-to-date changes in the law helps us stay current with all proper procedural matters as it refers to process serving. An example is the newly enacted laws referring to Foreclosure Actions. All affidavits of service are detailed and comply with the requirements as stated in New York’s RPAPL 1303 and RPAPL 1320.

Summons & Complaint, Petition/Notice of Petition, Orders to Show Cause, Subpoenas, etc. Our staff of experienced process servers will serve all your papers in a timely matter. All papers are attempted within 72 hours of receipt and we also offer same day and next day service.

We offer a full line of skip tracing services to help find individuals, as well as conduct DMV searches, Postal Trace inquiries and search additional databases available to Advantage. We also serve the Secretary of State for domestic and foreign corporations that can sometimes prove difficult to locate.

We can handle your court action from start to finish, from the purchase of your index number, service of all legal papers, and filing all necessary affidavits of service within the time requirements as established by law. We will also search Surrogate’s Court so service can be completed against an estate, skip tracing (locating individuals), and we have the resources to solve any other problems that might arise when attempting service of process.

We have experienced process servers available during business hours to handle any such requests. Papers can be emailed to our office at twesthall@advantagelegal.com for immediate service. We also offer next day service.

Our experienced process servers have seen it all. We can handle almost any request that your firm requires. Requests for early morning service, service at court appearances or service at special locations are no problem. Give us a call at 888.364.9121 and let us answer your process service questions.