Over the past few weeks, we’ve covered the ins and outs of boat registrations, as well as the “Who?” “What?””Why?”and “How” for a Certificate of Incumbency. Today we wrap it all up with a real-life case study of how a Certificate of Incumbency was able to help an international boat owner.

An international client needed to prove to Israeli authorities he was the rightful owner of his boat. The boat was registered under the name of a Limited Liability Company (LLC). This client in turn owned the LLC. Sounds simple enough, right? Wrong… A basic LLC formation document in Delaware does not list the owners of the entity. So, how does the client prove ownership then? One suggestion his legal counsel gave was to file an Amendment in Delaware adding an article to show he was the owner. However, this would mean the client’s personal information, such as home address would become public information, which was not an ideal solution for this client. In talking with the client about the situation, we mentioned we often provide a Certificate of Incumbency for international clients needing to prove ownership to banking officials.  The client asked for a sample document and conferred with his attorney. The attorney agreed the Certificate of Incumbency would sufficiently meet the needs to prove his ownership. The client provided us with all the necessary documentation. We then drafted the certificate, had it notarized, and sent it to the State of Delaware for an Apostille. The end result? A very happy client!

If you have additional questions or need assistance with obtaining a certificate, give us a call or email us. We’re always happy to help you out in any way we can. Just remember, we can’t give legal or tax advice. You’ll have to contact an attorney or CPA for that.