Risk Management Blog

UCC & Corporate Due Diligence

Resource Guide for Legal and Financial Professionals

Why Many Businesses Organize in Delaware

Corporate

Most of us have heard that a large number of businesses choose to file their organizing paperwork in the State of Delaware. In fact, more than half of the corporations that make up the Fortune 500 are incorporated in Delaware. Why is that? Easy and Affordable The State of Delaware makes it easy and affordable to set up shop. The fees for filing organizing paperwork in the state are low compared to most other states and businesses that… >> READ MORE


Maximize UCC and Lien Search Results to Minimize Risk

UCC, Due Diligence

When conducting UCC and lien searches as part of a prefunding due diligence investigation it is a good idea to maximize your results in order to minimize your risk. This strategy helps uncover hidden liens and those filed under critical name variations. To accomplish this, you will want to cast a wide net to bring in as many potential hits as possible and then whittle them down to only those that are pertinent to your transaction. Online… >> READ MORE


Secured Creditors and Unsecured Creditors: What’s the Difference?

UCC, Due Diligence

There are secured creditors and unsecured creditors. But what is the difference between secured creditors and unsecured creditors? Secured Creditors Secured Creditors are creditors that hold a lien on its debtor’s property, whether that property is real property or personal property. The lien gives the secured creditor an interest in its debtor’s property that provides for the property to be sold to satisfy the debt in cases of default.… >> READ MORE


State-specific UCC rules: Examples of the (not so) Uniform Commercial Code

UCC

The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) is a bit of a misnomer given that its interpretation and application varies widely from state to state. With this, our final “UCC Month” blog post, I want to draw attention to a few state-specific UCC rules. Filing and Recordation Taxes (AL, FL, MD, TN) Alabama, Florida, Maryland and Tennessee have special rules that may require the payment of taxes at the time of filing UCC documents. Any taxes… >> READ MORE


Civil Litigation Searching – What Court Should I Search?

Corporate, Litigation Research

In a recent blog post titled, “Ordering a Civil Litigation Search: 5 Pieces of Information Your Searcher Will Need From You,” we mentioned that when ordering a litigation search, your searcher will be expecting you to provide direction as to which specific court they should visit.  Several readers responded, saying that they could use some help figuring out what court to search. First Corporate Solutions cannot offer any legal advice… >> READ MORE


Risk Management and Due Diligence Tips For Asset-Based Lenders

UCC, Due Diligence, Events & Tradeshows

In concert with Commercial Finance Associations’ annual conference, below are links pertinent to CFA members about lien and documentation due diligence from previous blog posts. First Corporate Solutions is proud to once again support the CFA and we invite you all to explore the links below and then drop by our exhibit booth later this week. Let us know any questions and see you in Austin! Are you considering ways to streamline and… >> READ MORE


When is a Terminated UCC Record not Really Terminated?

UCC

One of the basic tenets of the Uniform Commercial Code holds that a terminated UCC filing ceases to be effective. So how can a terminated UCC not really be terminated? There are two scenarios. Scernario 1: When the UCC record contains more than one secured party of record. Under the Uniform Commercial Code, when multiple secured parties exist for a single UCC record, a single secured party can act as representative and file a termination… >> READ MORE


Ordering a Civil Litigation Search: 5 Pieces of Information Your Searcher will Need from You

Corporate, Due Diligence

Conscientious searchers know that an exhaustive pre-funding due diligence investigation will include a search of court records for civil litigation involving their prospect. Not being attorneys however, many are unsure of what to order or what information they will need to provide to get the ball rolling. In addition to the search name, there are five basic pieces of information you will need to supply in order to secure a relevant and… >> READ MORE


Why Include Similar Names in Searches to Locate Tax Liens and Mis-Indexed Filings

UCC, Due Diligence, Revised Article 9

According to Revised Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, a UCC Financing Statement is only effective if it gets the debtor name right. A UCC filing that fails to properly identify the debtor by their exact legal name will not offer the secured party priority status to collect should the debtor default or file for bankruptcy. Searchers often mistakenly interpret this to mean they only need be concerned with filings that provide an exact… >> READ MORE


Omit “dba” notation from UCC Filings

UCC

A UCC Financing Statement must properly identify the debtor in order for the UCC to perfect a security interest and provide priority protection for the secured party. To satisfy this requirement, a secured party must complete their Financing Statement using the debtor’s legal name. In general, secured parties understand the importance of properly naming the debtor on their UCC Financing Statements and try hard to comply. Sometimes though,… >> READ MORE