I think we're agreeing, mostly. The proper formalities and separations need to be maintained, and bad personal behavior is not shielded. I did it correctly when

I think we're agreeing, mostly. The proper formalities and separations need to be maintained, and bad personal behavior is not shielded. I did it correctly when I had a one-man LLC, but you're right many don't. Misconduct like "vanishing with client money" is a separate personal tort and/or crime (depending on the specifics) and would make it easy to pierce the veil anywhere regardless of formalities and separations. That said, for more normal situations that aren't about misconduct, different states take different levels of strictness in analyzing the veil piercing question. YMMV.