In the United States a Separate Legal Entity or SLE refers to a type of legal entity with detached accountability. A business can be set up as an SLE to legally separate it from the individual or owner, such as a limited liability company or a corporation.[1][2]
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. In New Zealand, a company is a separate legal entity from its owners (shareholders) and can, for example, be sued, and enter into contracts in the name of the company, not the shareholders. Sole traders and partnerships are not separate legal entities from the owners.