Ten Estate Planning Advantages of Limited Liability Companies

Abstract:     
In the eight years since the Service blessed the Wyoming limited liability company (LLC) statute, there has been an explosion of interest in LLCs, which are now available in 48 states and the District of Columbia (with Hawaii and Vermont the lone holdouts). See Bruce P. Ely, "The LLC Scoreboard," Tax Notes, Dec. 25, 1995, p. 1661. Although much has been written of the uses of LLCs in tax and business planning, comparatively little commentary has focused on the role of LLCs in estate planning. The LLC treatises generally devote little attention to estate planning issues, and there have only been a few estate planning articles that discuss the advantages of LLCs compared to S corporations, limited partnerships, and trusts. (A listing of these treatises and articles appears at the end of this article.) After a brief introduction, this article discusses 10 estate planning advantages of LLCs compared to the other forms of organization.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 7

Keywords: Tax, Tax Planning, Estate Planning, Limited Liability Companies, LLCs

JEL Classification: K34

Accepted Paper Series