I would charge you about $1,000.00 for about 2 hours of work to set up the LLC. It is possible to do it yourself if you’re motivated to learn; go to your local bookstore and in the “legal self-help section” look for the book from Nolo Press on setting up your own LLC. It explains all the tax benefits, etc, and compares the LLC to a Corp, Sole Proprietorship, and Partnership for your information. Go to the Calif. Department of Corporations website and you can download all the necessary forms, and see the filing fees etc. Also, find out from your tax adviser as to when your first tax return would be due. You must file a return within so many months after setting up the LLC.
You can also see Nolo’s books here:
www.nolopress.com