UCC secured party name change after corporate merger - need continuation help

This is exactly right. I learned this the hard way when our bank went through a similar merger two years ago. We tried to do continuations with the old name and had several rejections.

Wait, so you have to amend first then continue? That seems like double the filing fees for something that should be straightforward.

True, but even in states that allow combined filings, you still need to be very careful about how you fill out the forms. The secured party name has to match exactly between all your documents.

This is where I got confused last year. Some states want separate filings, others allow combined. It's a mess trying to track which is which across multiple states.

That sounds useful. Did it help you figure out which states needed separate amendments vs combined filings?

It mainly helped with the document consistency part - making sure all the names matched properly between our corporate docs and the UCC filings. For state-specific requirements I still had to research each one individually.

How much does that tool cost? We're already spending a fortune on filing fees with all these amendments.

Good point about lien priority. That's exactly what I'm worried about. Some of these loans are substantial and losing perfection would be catastrophic.

Spreadsheet approach is smart. I did this when we had a bunch of continuations due and it really helped keep track of deadlines and requirements.

Good strategy. Prioritize by loan amount and time to expiration. Handle the biggest risks first.

Grace periods vary wildly too. Some states give you 6 months, others give you none. Check each state individually.

If you have that flexibility, it might be worth considering. Doing all your continuations with the current name, then handling the name change afterward could simplify things.

But you can't always control merger timing based on UCC schedules. Sometimes you just have to deal with the complexity.

I've done this before. Some SOS offices are really helpful, others basically just tell you to read the statute. Hit or miss.

The problem is getting consistent answers. I've called the same office twice and gotten different interpretations of the same rule.

This is why having a good UCC attorney or service provider can be worth the cost. They deal with these issues regularly.

Our merger agreement does establish that ABC Financial Services LLC is the successor to ABC Capital LLC. Should I include references to this in the UCC-3 amendment filings?

Most UCC-3 forms don't have space for detailed explanations, but having that documentation in your files is definitely important for compliance purposes.

Did you find it caught things that manual review missed?

Definitely. Especially with the filing number cross-references. Easy to transpose digits when you're dealing with dozens of filings.

That's really helpful to hear. How did you handle the timing with filings that were getting close to expiration?

I prioritized those and did expedited processing where available. Cost more but avoided any lapse risks.

Smart approach. Better to pay extra filing fees than risk losing perfection on major loans.