1

I am part of a group of people with a common goal in mind. We are not organized in any type of association. However, we have a need to hire a lawyer to represent our interests as a group and time is of the essence.

What methods are there for me to collect money from each member? I am looking for a type of tool (online or something) that will help me collect this and each member will be able to see the balance of the account or something similar.

This is an example of a group of people that own commercial real estate spaces on a given place. The commercial owners need to join to hire a lawyer as a group of commercial spaces against the residents above our commercial spaces.

John Bensin
  • 15,048
  • 3
  • 72
  • 112
Geo
  • 5,845
  • 6
  • 29
  • 39

1 Answers1

4

What you describe is called a "partnership" ("General Partnership", more precise).

Partnership are unincorporated associations of people with a common goal in mind. Every partner shares the same responsibility and obligations, and the duties and authorizations to act on behalf of the partnership should be written down and signed by all the partners in a contract, which is called "Operating Agreement".

With that in place, you (if you're given the authority by the partners) can open a bank account on behalf of the partnership, and allow other partners access to it (with or without signature authority, per the operating agreement).

If you're talking about a group of homeowners - you should set up a "Homeowners Association" (HOA). Per applicable state law it would either be a limited partnership or a special kind of incorporated entity. That entity can enter contracts (hire a lawyer, for example) on behalf of all the owners.

littleadv
  • 190,863
  • 15
  • 314
  • 526