Boy, yesterday flew by... Was at the store again; where I'll also spend most of today. Then had dinner with my contractor and his extended family. I've now got the bank account created and today we deal with the fictitious name stuff. That opens the floodgates for finishing the rest of the forms.

The fictitious name form is really key in this case. As it turns out I can't register the company with all the appropriate agencies unless I have a legal right to use the name of the company. The current owner has to abandon the name, then I immediately file a DBA (doing business as) form. But it's a chicken and egg problem to deal with when buying an existing business because you need to have the forms complete before taking over, and you can't register the forms until you own the name. Luckily the owner is working with me on this. Otherwise I'd have to change the name or stay closed the first week or two until all the papers clear.