Entity Setup Costs in Minnesota

[Keegan N Kittock]

Hello All,

I am new to BiggerPockets but I already find myself spending significant time researching all sorts of topics that have been posted. I have recently got a quote from a law firm, to create a living trust that holds an LLC formed in Nevada that is taxed in an S-corp with a Foreign Qualification to do business in Minnesota. The pricing was as follows:

Living Trust: $2,700

LLC: $1,200

MN Foreign Qualification: $100

These prices did not include the cost of the fees that the states would charge for the LLC creation and the MN Foreign qualification Designation. I guess my question is regarding the living trust; Does this seem high to anyone? Or is that about the going rate for what I am looking for? Any advice or good leads on legal counsel in Minnesota that have experience in real estate would be great. Thanks in Advance!

[John Woodrich]

I am not sure what your goals are but you are talking about setting up a somewhat complicated structure. In MN the filing fee is $155 to setup an LLC, we charge around an hour of work to setup the company and get an EIN number which brings our total cost to around $300-$350 for a MN domestic LLC.

Setting up an LLC in Nevada, then registering the LLC as a Foreign LLC in MN will essentially double up on some of this work and it will double up on filing fees. You will probably need to pay an annual registered agent fee also in NV to receive any official notifications they send you. One would question why you want to setup a NV LLC when you live in MN and plan to operate here but you may have some other risk we are not aware of. I use LLCs but personally I don't perceive this as a very risky business. Maybe for those who are trying to slum lord...

I am not sure the work entailed in a NV LLC but that amount looks high to me. I would question whether you need such a complicated structure. If you are simply going to invest in rental properties it may not make much sense.