Foreign Qualification Can Be Easy, or It Can Be Difficult
Foreign qualification is how a given state permits an entity, such as a corporation or limited liability company, from elsewhere to do business in that state. In this context, “foreign” can mean from another state or from a different country.
Recently, one of my international clients formed a corporation in Delaware. We have been qualifying that corporation to do business in about a dozen other states. This post explains how easy, or how difficult, various states makes the foreign qualification process.
(more…)How Most States Chose “Shareholder” as Delaware Kept “Stockholder”
“Shareholder” and “stockholder” are synonyms. This post explains how most states came to use the former term in their laws, while Delaware consistently has used the latter.
Before Delaware had a general corporation law, Delaware’s legislature created each corporation. The Constitution of Delaware – 1831 so provided in Article II, Section 17, but made no mention of stockholders (or shareholders).
Following a constitutional amendment, Delaware adopted its first general corporation law in 1875. (See Laws of the State of Delaware, Vol. 15 – Part 1, beginning at page 181.) That law includes a few references to “stockholder”, none to “shareholder”. (more…)
