John Forms His Texas LLC
John pleaded for Henry to assist him following Anne’s departure. He understood the only way to save their marriage was to redeem the house, but it was an impossible task in the two weeks that he had before the second eviction trial. Henry was sympathetic to John’s marital woes. He was having some problems himself at the moment. Ginny was upset about their misadventure in justice court, and Henry hired a real estate attorney in Frisco to assist him with the second eviction attempt and future real estate transactions.
Henry discussed with the real estate attorney how he could assist John without hurting himself. The attorney devised a plan that spread the redemption price over the remainder of the redemption period. When Henry asked about the mortgage payments he had been making, the attorney explained that was not part of the redemption price. “You mean that I should not have been making them?”
“Correct,” the attorney answered, “In fact, the house is probably underwater anyways. There’s no telling how many payments he’s missed.”
Henry could have vomited.
Henry discussed the plan with John, which also included repayment of the mortgage payments. John agreed to both the redemption price and the repayment of the mortgage payments because of Henry’s assistance. The months passed, and, with some help from his parents, John was able to repay the redemption price and the mortgage payments that Henry had made.
However, regaining ownership of the house was not enough to convince Anne to return home. They were still in financial straits. They were several months behind on their mortgage, and they had begun receiving mortgage foreclosure notices.
John worked furiously to gain approval for a loan modification. Finally, after several months, in the eleventh hour, he was successful. Nearly a year had passed since Anne left the house. She rarely agreed to meet with him, but he had the kids every other weekend. Anne had not filed for divorce, and he thought that was a good sign. She was just lighting a fire under him. That was all. A little motivation for him.
After obtaining the loan modification, he ecstatically called to tell her that everything would be okay. Sales had picked up at his new job, and John was actually able to put some money into a savings account for the first time in well over a year. However, Anne was not as excited as he had expected. She told him that she was seeing another man, Caleb. Caleb was older, more settled in his finances. He took care of her, provided for her, gave her gifts, made sure that their kids had presents for Christmas and their birthdays. Caleb had even put Anne’s name on a deed to a property they recently purchased. Anne filed for divorce the following week.
John was devastated. He did not want to lose his wife. He did not want to lose his kids. He did not want to lose his family. John was upset at his wife. She was ungrateful for how hard he had worked. But something inside of him could not let her go. Maybe it was his competitive spirit. Maybe it was unconditional love. Maybe both. Regardless, he would not give up on his family.
John continued working his software sales job. Commissions continued to increase. His employer’s stature increased in the industry. There was talk of a potential sale of the company. So John decided that it was time that he stopped relying on the employment from others. He started focusing on himself.
John contacted a business attorney in Frisco, Texas, to form a Texas limited liability company. After the Texas LLC was formed, he asked the attorney to prepare software services agreements, software sales agreements, and software license agreements. Then John got his Texas LLC approved as a minority owned business. In his spare time, he started applying for government contracts. John used his contacts in India to give him bids that undercut all the local competition. He operated the business out of his house with no employees and almost no overhead. He was surprised when he received his first contract. And then he received a second contract. And then a third contract. Slowly, his business grew.
Against his attorney’s advice, John excitedly told Anne about his new business. For the first time in over a year, he could hear that she was proud of him. John had advised his attorney to slow down the divorce without making things too testy to give him some operating room. Anne also slowed the divorce process. She had grown tired of her fling with the older man, and she wanted her children to be with their father. John was a good man who was working hard to repair their financial straits. She was ashamed that she had not only bailed on their marriage, but also found herself seeking security with another man.
John and Anne began meeting each other. Then they started dating again. They worked through issues that could never be forgotten. And, after a few months, Anne moved back into the house.
The family was together again, but tough times were coming.
I am Robert Newton of The Law Office of Robert Newton, P.C., and I am the author of this series entitled The Impact of Law, in addition to being a real estate, business, and estate planning attorney in Frisco, Texas. While the characters and the circumstances are fictional, they represent a very realistic scenario. If you need to form a Texas limited liability company, please contact an attorney. None of the information contained within the story represent legal advice. Actually, in many cases, it would be very bad legal advice. So, seek the advice of an attorney. And, stay tuned for the next chapter!
