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Virgin Islands Law Blog | Real Estate Planning & Corporate Law | BoltNagi PC Menu Current Page: Home About Our Practice Contact Search Close Enter Search Terms Search Virgin Islands Law Blog U.S. Virgin Islands law & politics Senate Panel OKs Bill Authorizing Digitizing USVI’s Legal Documents By Tom Bolt on June 17, 2021 Posted in Business A law to establish a system allowing citizens to electronically access legal documents was approved Monday by the Senate Committee on Government Operations and Consumer Protection. The bill is based on a uniform law adopted in 2011 by the National Conference of Commissioners of Uniform Laws. Monday’s hearing drew nothing but support for the legislation from the testifiers and committee members alike. Should the Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act be signed into law, the U.S. Virgin Islands would become the 23rd jurisdiction to enact it. Bill sponsor Sen. Carla Joseph said the legislation is critical,” as it will eliminate the barriers we have been placing” on access to information especially in the midst of this pandemic.” Attorney Tom Bolt, chairman of the V.I. Uniform Law Commission, told committee members there were several benefits to adopting the uniform law. In establishing a framework for states and territories to publish official legal material online, Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act makes the legal system easier to access for laypeople, as well as attorneys. It lowers the cost barriers to the legal system for citizens and helps self-represented litigants by ensuring ready access to official and trustworthy legal information,” Bolt said. The law would require all electronic documents to be authenticated, preserved, and made permanently accessible to the public. And because of the nature of a uniform law, it provides an additional benefit, he added. The law allows for reciprocity between adopting states, which brings efficiency and cost-savings to business dealings and court proceedings,” Bolt said. For example, an enacting state’s electronic legal materials covered by Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act will be recognized by courts in other enacting states as presumptively authentic, making expensive and time-consuming proofs unnecessary.” Wolf Law Library Director Leslie Street told the committee that electronic information has given rise to the opportunity for people to have the laws that govern them at their fingertips.” One of the most important hallmarks of any democracy is not only that citizens have the right to vote and petition their government, but that the public also have access to the laws that they are governed by,” Street said. Not just laws, but a multitude of documents could be provided, some documents that Bolt said the public hasn’t seen in over 10 years. Years ago, there was published the opinions of the attorney general. We haven’t seen that published in 10 to 15 years now,” Bolt said. It would help justice in the Virgin Islands if those could be published and could be made available to the Virgin Islands public in electronic form.” Bolt added that in the past the territory had court libraries available to the public but they no longer are. Virgin Islanders have been cut off access from there. It’s not as simple as going down to the court anymore … There is a crying need for Uniform Electronic Legal Material Act in the territory,” he said. All seven committee members – Sens. Joseph, Novelle Francis Jr., Marvin Blyden, Alma Francis Heyliger, Javan James Sr., Franklin Johnson, and Milton Potter voted to advance the legislation to the Rules and Judiciary Committee, where it will be further reviewed. Additional senators who are not committee members also were present. For more information regarding allowing citizens to electronically access legal documents, please contact a business attorney in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tom Bolt is Managing Attorney of BoltNagi PC, a full-service business law firm on St. Thomas U.S. Virgin Islands. stthomassource.com/content/2021/06/14/senate-panel-oks-bill-authorizing-digitizing-usvis-legal-documents: By Bethaney Lee Email this post Tweet this post Like this post Share this post on LinkedIn What You Should Know About Forming an LLC in the U.S. Virgin Islands By J. Nash Davis on March 8, 2021 Posted in Corporate & Financial Services A limited liability company (LLC) is a business structure designed to protect the personal assets and interests of the individual members of the company, while avoiding the double taxation that many corporations often incur. LLC’s offer protection from personal lawsuits while preventing double taxation on corporate and personal revenue. LLC’s are unique to the United States and are available in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Limited Liability Company Act of 1998 regulates LLC’s in the Territories. In addition to the limited liability benefit individual members gain by forming an LLC, there are many other benefits that LLC’s enjoy. Company formation To register as an LLC, the company name must be unique and not similar to another company name already registered in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It must also include the words limited company,” or limited liability company,” or the abbreviation LC” or LLC.” The LLC must have a local registered agent and a local office address for official notices and service requests. Turnaround time for incorporating an LLC ranges from one week to one month. This depends on how well the company completed its application and how many applications are currently being processed. Company structure In short, LLC’s are formed by the filing of Articles of Organization with the Lieutenant Governor’s Division of Corporations. One or more persons can form a limited liability company, consisting of at least one member, and both private individuals and corporations can be members. Tax benefits LLC’s are generally required to file tax returns annually. LLC’s are not required to pay corporate taxes unless the LLC has elected to be treated as a regular corporation for tax purposes. In most situations, the LLC is treated as a pass-through” entity whereby the revenue and deductions flow from the LLC directly to its member(s), and the member(s) are responsible for incorporating those figures on their personal returns. Maintaining an LLC LLC’s have a low required minimum capital contribution of $1,000 by its member(s). LLC’s are required to file annual reports with the Lieutenant Governor and pay an annual franchise fee each year. The annual fee is computed by assessing $1.50 for each thousand dollars of capital used in conducting business in the Virgin Islands, provided, however, that the minimum is $300. For more tips about forming LLC’s in the U.S. Virgin Islands, contact a business attorney in the U.S. Virgin Islands. J. Nash Davis is Chair of the Real Estate & Financial Services Practice Group at BoltNagi PC, a full-service business law firm on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Email this post Tweet this post Like this post Share this post on LinkedIn American Bar Delegates Call For End to Border Exception in V.I. Search and Seizure Case By Tom Bolt on March 5, 2021 Posted in American Bar Association A push for legal protection under the Constitution for the U.S. Virgin Islands recently won support from a national organization representing lawyers. Members of the Virgin Islands Bar Association petitioned the American Bar Association, asking for their support in a matter involving the Fourth Amendment right to legal search and seizure. The American Bar Association House of Delegates approved the resolution, saying that people traveling between the U.S. Virgin Islands and the U.S. mainland must be given the same protections as they enjoy in Puerto Rico and the 50 states. The resolution was introduced by St. Thomas attorney Tom Bolt, who is currently serving as the territory’s representative to the house of delegates. Adoption of the resolution came in response...