LLC Benefits

Inside Liability Protection

A member of an LLC is not responsible for claims or judgments against the company. When we are dealing with a rental property or an active business, the potential liability associated with the business is a primary concern. But as we have stated, the law specifically provides that the members of the LLC cannot be sued. In our previous case study, John and Mary transfer their apartment building to an LLC. If a tenant is injured in an accident, John and Mary, as members of the company, would be protected from any claim relating to the property.

Outside Liability Protection

Property held in an LLC cannot be seized by a creditor of a member. If there is a judgment or claim against John or Mary, the creditor cannot reach the property held in the LLC. However, even though the creditor cannot reach the property directly, he can do so indirectly by seizing the member’s ownership interest in a foreclosure. (California Corporations Code Section 17302 (Foreclosure of LLC interests); In Re: Ashley Albright, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado (April 4, 2003)). The ability of a creditor to foreclose on a membership interest was recently affirmed by the Florida Supreme Court despite statutory language limiting the creditors remedy to a charging order. (Olmstead, et al., v. The Federal Trade Commission, Supreme Court of Florida. Case No. SC08-1009 (June 24, 2010)). The foreclosure remedy is a powerful weapon in the hands of a creditor since it allows a potential recovery by a creditor equal to the full value of LLC property—which may be considerably greater than the judgment itself.

Getting back to our example, what this means is that if the LLC interests are held personally by John and Mary, meaningful protection from outside liability is not achieved since a creditor with a judgment can seize the membership interests. As with the FLP, proper ownership of the LLC interests within a Family Savings Trust or other vehicle is a key component of any asset protection strategy for protecting the membership interests. This fact must be addressed at the planning stage.

No Formalities

An LLC is not required to maintain formal minutes and resolutions. Record keeping requirements can be minimized without a threat that the members will be sued individually for a liability of the company. Contrast this treatment with that of a corporation. If the proper formalities are not followed, the corporate protection will be pierced and the owners will have liability for company obligations. The LLC law is specifically intended to remedy this problem by providing that the entity cannot be pierced because of a failure to maintain any of the corporate type documents.