The Series LLC Illinois Checklist

By Isaac Franco

Businesses in Illinois now have the option of establishing “subsidiary (series) LLC’s” under a “Master LLC” —an option whose pros and cons may be assessed with a Series LLC Illinois checklist. By “establishing series” under a Master LLC, businesses can save on administrative costs while still obtaining liability protection for each “series” organization.  The Series LLC Illinois Checklist provides a way to determine if your business should utilize a Series LLC structure.

Does a Series LLC make sense for your business? Here is our Series LLC Illinois checklist to find out. If you can check off each of these statements, you should consider contacting an attorney to help you establish this organization for your business.

__My business is diverse, and made up of multiple entities. Some businesses owners are engaged in multiple business activities that are not generally related. For example, one might manufacture sprockets and also own a performance theater. Because these business operations are so distinctly different, it makes little sense to have one company perform both business activities. In this example, creating two series to perform separate business activities will allow you to separate business activities among distinct entities and allow you to more coherently brand a given business operation.

___ I own and operate real estate and I want to limit liability.

Owning multiple properties personally or in one individual entity can be risky. If successfully sued, a creditor can reach all of a business owner’s assets if they are held in one place. Creating a series LLC allows you to to limit your liability by titling property to individual series. As long as business operations are kept separate, all series liabilities are insulated from one another and cannot be affectedif a single entity is successfully sued by a creditor.

 ___I want to reduce my administrative costs as much as possible. If your business has several entities that require registration with the Secretary of State, creating a Series LLC may offer significant savings in fees. (see chart below)

We hope this Series LLC Illinois checklist has helped you determine if a Series is right for you. If so, feel free to contact us at Gardi, Haught, Fischer & Bhosale LTD We are prepared to put together a Series LLC for your business with an operating agreement that is inclusive of all your requirements.