The most important decision revolves about the type of entity you should be setting up. That is what you really need a professional's advice for.
The specific contents of a Certificate of Incorporation vary with each state’s incorporation laws, but key features are consistent: the corporation's name, the number of shares authorized, the names and addresses of the incorporator(s), and the address of a registered office and agent for service of process.
In terms of the actual filing, some people follow a "do it yourself" approach using (1) interactive software programs that automate the process, (2) tear-out forms available in many published guides to incorporating, or (3) fill-in-the blank forms that may be available from the State. Many use a corporate service company to create the corporation for them. Wise ones rely on an attorney to set up the corporation for them.
Forming the corporation is just a small part of the total process of setting up a business and making sure what you are setting up makes sense for you. As an attorney's advice is typically needed in connection with many other aspects of business start-up, relying on a lawyer to set up the corporation will make it far more likely the whole job is done right. Further, once the corporation is set up, it becomes necessary to adopt By-Laws and resolutions and a whole long paper trail to assure you the protections and benefits you are seeking by operating in corporate form.
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