Knowles & Sullivan, LLC

01/23/2025

Rental property available -Court Street downtown Gadsden. Great for office, retail or other uses. Great location and the property is in great condition. Contact Christie Knowles @ 256-547-7200.

Check out this great location on downtown Gadsden's brick street. One large room of approximately 1,200sf with 2 bathrooms. There is also a small storage area.

01/10/2025

We will be closed today due to the weather. Stay safe, everyone!

12/24/2024

12/12/2024

Our office will be closing at 4 p.m. today for our staff Christmas party. We will re-open tomorrow at 8 a.m.

10/15/2024

We are excited to welcome Andrew Schomburg to the firm as an associate attorney! Andrew graduated law school from the University of Alabama in May and recently passed the Alabama Bar Exam. We are happy to have him on board.

06/21/2024

I get this question so often from clients I thought it would be helpful to post about it.

Question: You prepared paperwork to change the ownership of my LLC a while back. Now my bank is asking for the “recorded” change of ownership filed with the Alabama Secretary of State or county recording office. The bank/I looked it up at the Secretary of State and the new ownership is not showing up there. Is there something I need to do or record to “file” the change in ownership you prepared?

Answer: No. In Alabama, when an entity (LLC or corporation) ownership changes, you don't register that change with the Secretary of State. The initial formation documents with the owners as of formation are filed with the Secretary of State (assuming you want to list the owners as its optional). If after initial formation there are ownership changes, those are internal documents you just keep on file or give to the bank if you want to add or change account signatories. You don’t record or file with the State of Alabama the ownership changes every time those are made. Often a bank will tell you that they need the “recorded” change in ownership or something showing the change with the Secretary of State. In other states, that may be the case, but in Alabama there is no such filing. So, the Secretary of State is not going to have a record of the new ownership because new ownership or changes in ownership after initial formation are not recorded in Alabama.

So, all you need are the internal transfer of ownership documents to make changes to bank accounts, etc., when new members/owners are added or changed. There is nothing to record and you are all set with the documents I provide you to do what you need.

Caveats- 1. Alabama used to require an LLC file a BPT/business privilege tax return with the Alabama Dept of Revenue. That filing often showed the owners and was linked to the Secretary of State listing for an entity. But the Alabama legislature largely did away with the BPT as of 2024, so it's not a source of public record of ownership anymore. 2. The federal FINCEN/CTA report will require changes of ownership to be filed at the federal level, but that is not a database subject to public record searches.

This is not legal advice - it's just helpful information. This relates to Alabama law only. Consult an attorney for any specific situations you may have.

05/29/2024

Trademark Registration "Scams"

TO MY BUSINESS AND CREATIVES CLIENTS - Several of you have been calling or emailing me with concerns about being contacted by "trademark specialists" who claim that they are about to register your company name, trademark or tradename with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for another client and if you "don't act fast" the other person is going to register your business name or trademark. They claim that if you don't hire them immediately to register your business name with the UPSTO, the other person will own it, tell you can't use it and then try to sell it back to you for a premium price. Concerned clients have reached out to me asking about these emails and whether this is legitimate. Most likely, these are emails are not legitimate.

You are not required to register your trademark/tradename to own it. You have what is called "common law rights" in your trademark/tradename by virtue of being the first person to use it for its intended purpose in the geographical area. Registration at the state or federal level is optional.

Depending on the situation, sometimes a client needs to register their common law mark. Registering your trademark with the USPTO creates rights throughout the entire United States and includes your registration in a publicly accessible database of registered trademarks. For more information about common law rights vs. registration you can go to the USPTO website below. https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/basics/why-register-your-trademark #:~:text=You%20are%20not%20required%20to,federal%2C%20or%20international%20trademark%20registration.

Bottom line is beware of scare tactic emails where people are threatening to register your business name or trademark and take it from you or hold it hostage unless you hire them to stop them.

Call or email me if you have any specific questions. Of course, this post is not legal advice, its just helpful information, so consider this to be the typical legal disclaimer that I have to include to these posts.

Christie Knowles

04/19/2024

We appreciate our amazing staff!
Thank you for all you do.

01/04/2024

Important information for Knowles & Sullivan, LLC Business Clients:

Please be aware that a new federal law became effective Jan 1, 2024 that REQUIRES most new and existing small businesses to file a beneficial ownership report (BOI report) with the US Department of Treasury. Information can be found at: https://boiefiling.fincen.gov

Existing businesses - A reporting company created or registered to do business before January 1, 2024, will have until January 1, 2025, to file its initial BOI report.
New businesses - A reporting company created or registered in 2024 will have 90 calendar days to file after receiving actual or public notice that its creation or registration is effective.

We are trying to raise awareness of these new regulations because there are penalties for not filing these reports on time. We want our business clients to be aware of this new law so they don’t inadvertently incur penalties.

The good news is that here at Knowles & Sullivan, we are updated and prepared to ensure all our new 2024 business filings are compliant for our clients so they don’t have to worry about these new regulations. We are reaching out to our existing clients who created an entity before January 1, 2024 to let them know about the January 1, 2025 deadline and help as needed.

Whether you use our law firm or not, if you are forming a new business please consult an attorney before doing so about these new requirements. These new federal regulations could really cause problems for people who try to form their own LLC’s without consulting an attorney or accountant who is familiar with the new law and new filing requirements.

Business clients - let us know how we can help. We have set up a dedicated email address for our business clients who need our help or have questions. Just email us at [email protected] and we will do our best to assist you with these new regulations.

01/04/2024

We are looking for someone to join our team!
Knowles & Sullivan, LLC is currently hiring for a legal assistant position. Prior experience in the legal field is preferred, but not required. Interested parties should email their resume to [email protected].

12/06/2023

Please note: We will be closing our office at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, December 8th. We hope you all have a wonderful weekend and we will see you Monday at 8:00 a.m.