Yes, a trust can own an LLC in Florida. The state’s Revised LLC Act defines “person” broadly enough to include trusts of every type, which means a trust qualifies as a member of any Florida limited liability company.1Online Sunshine. Florida Code 605.0102 – Definitions The structure is common in Florida estate planning because it pairs the LLC’s liability shield with the probate avoidance and succession benefits of a trust. The payoff depends on choosing the right type of trust, drafting the operating agreement correctly, and handling the tax reporting that follows.
Why Owners Put an LLC Into a Trust
Skipping Probate
An LLC membership interest held in your personal name is a probate asset at your death. It goes through court, becomes part of the public record, and can take months or longer to transfer. When a revocable living trust owns the same interest, the successor trustee simply keeps managing it or distributes it to beneficiaries under the trust’s terms. No court, no public filing, no gap.
That continuity matters most for LLCs that hold rental real estate or an operating business, where even a short lapse in authority can cause real financial harm. A successor trustee can step in immediately and keep rent collected, bills paid, and contracts honored.
Asset Protection
Here the type of trust decides everything. A properly structured irrevocable trust actually owns the membership interest, so your personal creditors generally cannot reach it. The separation is real only if the trust is genuinely irrevocable and you have not retained too much control.
A revocable trust gives you none of that protection during your lifetime. Because you can amend or revoke it at any time, courts treat the assets as effectively yours. Revocable trusts solve the probate problem; irrevocable trusts solve the creditor problem.
Liability Insulation Going the Other Way
The LLC’s liability shield still works inside the trust. If the LLC is sued or defaults on debt, creditors of the LLC generally cannot reach the other assets held by the trust. Your trust might hold the LLC alongside investment accounts, other real estate, and personal property, and a judgment against the LLC does not put those other trust assets at risk.
Florida’s Charging Order Protection
Florida gives LLC interests some of the strongest creditor protection in the country. Under the Revised LLC Act, a charging order is the sole and exclusive remedy for a judgment creditor trying to collect from a debtor’s LLC interest.2Online Sunshine. Florida Code 605.0503 – Charging Orders A charging order gives the creditor the right to receive distributions if and when the LLC decides to make them. It does not transfer ownership, voting rights, or management authority.
There is a significant exception for single-member LLCs. If a court finds that distributions under a charging order will not satisfy the judgment within a reasonable time, the creditor can ask the court to order a foreclosure sale of the debtor’s interest in a single-member LLC.3Florida Senate. Florida Code 605.0503 – Charging Orders For multi-member LLCs, foreclosure is explicitly prohibited. This is one reason estate planners sometimes recommend adding at least one additional member when asset protection is the priority.
Layering a trust on top adds another barrier. A creditor of the trust’s grantor would first have to reach the trust itself, which is difficult with an irrevocable trust, and then would still face the LLC’s charging order protection on top of that.
Tax Treatment Depends on the Trust
This is where owners get tripped up. The tax picture turns almost entirely on what kind of trust owns the LLC.
Revocable Trust
A revocable living trust is a grantor trust for federal tax purposes, meaning the IRS ignores it. Income, deductions, and credits flow through to you personally as if you still owned the LLC directly. A single-member LLC owned by a revocable trust is treated as a disregarded entity.4Internal Revenue Service. Single Member Limited Liability Companies You report the LLC’s income on your personal return (Schedule C for a business, Schedule E for rental property), and the LLC does not file its own return.
A revocable grantor trust can use your Social Security number rather than obtaining a separate EIN. When the grantor dies, the trust loses its grantor status. The successor trustee must get a new EIN and start filing trust tax returns on Form 1041.
Irrevocable Trust
An irrevocable trust that is not a grantor trust is a separate taxpayer. It needs its own EIN, files Form 1041, and pays tax on any income it retains. Trust tax brackets are compressed: in 2025, a trust hits the 37% federal rate at just $15,450 of taxable income, compared to over $609,000 for a single individual. Most advisors plan around this by distributing income to beneficiaries, who then report it on their own returns at their individual rates.
How to Make a Trust the Owner
Documents You Need in Place
The trust agreement has to give the trustee explicit authority to own and manage business interests. Florida’s Trust Code grants default powers to continue a business, vote as a member, contribute capital, and merge or dissolve an entity, but attorneys still spell these out so banks and title companies see the authority on the page.5Online Sunshine. Florida Code 736.0816 – Specific Powers of Trustee
The LLC’s operating agreement needs to name the trust as the member and identify the trustee as the authorized representative acting on the trust’s behalf. It should also say what happens when a trustee changes, so there is no gap in authority if the current trustee dies, resigns, or becomes incapacitated.
A certification of trust is a short statutory document that lets the trustee prove authority without disclosing the full trust agreement. Florida law protects anyone who relies on a certification in good faith.6Florida Senate. Florida Code 736.1017 – Certification of Trust Banks and title companies ask for this regularly.
Forming a New LLC Under a Trust
For a new LLC, draft or confirm the trust agreement first, then prepare an operating agreement that names the trust as the member. File the Articles of Organization with the Florida Division of Corporations through the Sunbiz portal.7Florida Department of State Division of Corporations. Florida Limited Liability Company The filing costs $125 total ($100 filing fee plus $25 for the registered agent designation).8Florida Department of State Division of Corporations. LLC Fees The Articles do not list members; the form specifically instructs filers not to.9Florida Department of State Division of Corporations. Instructions for Articles of Organization (FL LLC) The trust’s ownership lives in the private operating agreement, with the trustee typically listed as manager or authorized representative on the public filing.
Transferring an Existing LLC
To move an LLC you already own into a trust, you execute an Assignment of Membership Interest. You sign as the assignor in your individual capacity, and the trustee signs as the assignee on behalf of the trust. Under Florida law, a transfer of a membership interest does not dissolve the LLC or disrupt its operations.10Online Sunshine. Florida Code 605.0502 – Transfer of Transferable Interest
After the assignment, amend the operating agreement to reflect the trust as the new member, and document the change with a written consent or company minutes. The LLC must receive notice of the transfer before it is required to recognize the trust’s rights as a member.10Online Sunshine. Florida Code 605.0502 – Transfer of Transferable Interest
Check the operating agreement for transfer restrictions before you assign anything. A transfer that violates a restriction is ineffective against anyone who knows about it, and in a multi-member LLC the other members’ consent is almost always required.10Online Sunshine. Florida Code 605.0502 – Transfer of Transferable Interest
Documentary Stamp Tax on the Transfer
If the LLC holds Florida real estate, Florida specifically exempts transfers of an interest in a “conduit entity” to an irrevocable grantor trust when the transfer is made for estate planning purposes.11Online Sunshine. Florida Code 201.02 – Tax on Deeds and Other Instruments The exemption does not cover every scenario, so if the property is encumbered or beneficial ownership is actually changing, check with a tax professional before signing.
What You Have to Keep Up With
Every Florida LLC must file an annual report with the Division of Corporations. The fee is $138.75 if filed by May 1, and $538.75 if filed late.8Florida Department of State Division of Corporations. LLC Fees Miss the deadline entirely and the state can administratively dissolve the LLC, which undoes everything the structure was built to protect.
When a successor trustee takes over, update the operating agreement, prepare a new certification of trust, and notify banks and other institutions. A trustee change is effectively a change in who controls the company, and third parties need to know.
Federal Beneficial Ownership Reporting
The Corporate Transparency Act originally required most LLCs to report their beneficial owners to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. As of March 2025, FinCEN issued a rule removing that requirement for all U.S.-formed companies. Only entities formed under foreign law and registered to do business in a U.S. state must file.12Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting A Florida LLC owned by a domestic trust is currently exempt. FinCEN has signaled it may issue further rulemaking, so the status is worth rechecking before you rely on it.