Michigan Character and Fitness - Business Involvement Forum

[UMich11]

In college my roommate and I started two internet websites that generated sales, but we never formally incorporated or formed an LLC. Probably stupid in retrospect, but we were young and now i've learned. Anyway, the Michigan C&F has the following 2 questions:

• Have you ever held 10% or more of the ownership interest in any corporation, partnership, limited partnership, nonprofit corporation or association, or any other business entity?

• Have you ever been a general partner, officer or director of any partnership or corporation, or of any other business entity?

My gut is to say yes to both, and just state they were non-incorporated. Essentially a partnership, but never formally created. I was planning on calling the C&F department tomorrow, but since i'm up late i thought i might as well post this.

any thoughts?

[KTnKT]

Not sure about Michigan, but in Texas, you would automatically be considered a partnership by default as two people doing business together for profit. Here, a partnership doesn't require any sort of formality to form- the act of doing business itself forms the partnership. I believe that is the general rule unless yall do something wonky up north.

So if it were me, I'd put yes to both, then explain that it was a partnership for a website that generated sales from xxxx to xxxx period.

[austinmom]

When in doubt, disclose.

I had a minor in possession offense that was expunged in a jurisdiction that literally destroys expunged records. I had no proof that I had ever received a deferred adjudication for the offense or anything. I disclosed it anyway. In every jurisdiction I've applied in (I'm currently studying for my third), I disclosed.

One jurisdiction required disclosure of expunged records if they were less than ten years, so I had to disclose, but I just submitted an affidavit stating that I had no physical records, I tried calling the parish (county) clerk of records, searched under my SSN, etc. No one even asked about it at my C&F interview.

The two other jurisdictions didn't require disclosure of expunged records, but said later exposure of undisclosed records raises questions as to truthfulness. I went ahead and disclosed again and they haven't been a problem.

It's better to disclose and disclaim now than to try to explain after the fact.