|
All corporations must hold at least one shareholders meeting per year.
|
| Forms to use | |
Minutes for First Shareholders Meeting
Waiver of Notice for Shareholders Meeting |
| |
| What to do | |
After you have had a Board of Directors meeting, authorized stock and voted for directors, hold
a shareholders meeting. At that meeting:
- Inform the shareholders of the status and affairs of the corporation
- Ratify any insider transactions - only after discussing them with an attorney
- Keep minutes of your meeting
- Have each shareholder who didn't attend sign and approve a copy of the minutes and
place them in your minutes book (or sign a Waiver of Notice and Consent form).
|
|
| Legal details | |
Your bylaws require:
- Quorum and voting A meeting is not valid (i.e. you cannot make decisions) unless
there is a quorum of people representing a majority of shares.
- Absent Shareholders
If some shareholders do not attend a meeting (but you still have a quorum), have each
absent person approve a copy of the minutes (write "approved" on the minutes,
have them sign their name and put the signed minutes in your corporate files)
and/or have them sign a waiver of notice and consent to the meeting form.
- Advising shareholders about meetings The bylaws state that every
shareholder should be notified before a meeting. Please make every attempt to notify all
shareholders of your meeting in advance. Written notices to shareholders are not required if
a quorum is present at the meeting and if each shareholder:
- Shows up to the meeting and doesn't protest the lack of notice
- Doesn't show up, but signs a waiver of notice and consent to the meeting
- Doesn't show up, but signs and approves the minutes of the meeting.
Shareholders may attend meetings by conference telephone if all participants can hear everyone
at all times.
- Voting
At shareholder meetings, shareholders cast one vote for each share of stock that they own
(i.e. the largest owner has the biggest say).
- Minutes Your minutes should include:
- The time, place and actions taken
- Outcome of any vote taken and who voted for, against or abstained.
File your corporate minutes with your bylaws and
Articles of Incorporation.
|
|
| Questions? |
| Contact your attorney. |
|
|
|
