In the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, a separate legal entity (SLE) refers to a type of

legal entity In law, a legal person is any person or legal entity that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, lawsuit, sue and be sued, ownership, own property, and so on. The reason for the term "''le ...

with detached accountability. Any company is set up as an SLE to legally separate it from the individual or owner, such as a

limited liability company A limited liability company (LLC) is the United States-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of ...

or a

corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

. If a business is a separate legal entity, it means it has some of the same rights in law as a person. It is, for example, able to enter contracts, sue and be sued, and own property. A sole trader or partnership does not have a separate legal entity.

References

See also