Florida’s New Protected Series LLC Law: A New Planning Tool for Business Owners

Florida business owners, entrepreneurs, investors, and real estate developers will soon have a new entity-planning option to consider: the Florida protected series LLC.

Beginning July 1, 2026, Florida’s LLC Act will allow a Florida limited liability company to create one or more “protected series” within the same LLC structure. In practical terms, that means one Florida LLC may be able to house multiple separate business lines, investment projects, or assets, while treating each protected series as distinct for many operational and liability purposes.

For the right business, this could be a useful tool.

A protected series LLC may be especially attractive where a company owns or manages multiple assets or projects, such as separate real estate investments, distinct operating divisions, or separate investment portfolios. Instead of forming a new LLC for every project, a business may be able to create separate protected series under a single umbrella LLC.

The main appeal is liability segregation. If properly formed and maintained, the assets and liabilities of one protected series may be insulated from the assets and liabilities of the parent LLC and the other protected series. That protection, however, is not automatic in any practical sense. It depends on careful compliance with the statute, including clear records, separate accounting, properly associated assets and liabilities, and disciplined day-to-day administration.

That last point is critical. The protected series LLC is not simply a shortcut to fewer entities or lower filing costs. It is a structure that requires thoughtful planning, a carefully drafted operating agreement, and ongoing legal and accounting discipline. Business owners who commingle assets, blur records, or treat the series as interchangeable may undermine the very protection they hoped to create.

For current Florida businesses, this new law creates an opportunity to revisit entity structure. For businesses expanding into Florida, including companies with operations in both Michigan and Florida, it may become part of a broader planning discussion involving liability protection, governance, financing, contracts, real estate ownership, tax treatment, and succession planning.

The protected series LLC will not be the right fit for every business. In some cases, separate LLCs may still be cleaner, easier for lenders and counterparties to understand, or better suited for a particular transaction. But for businesses with multiple assets, investors, projects, or risk centers, Florida’s new law deserves a close look.

As with any entity-planning decision, the best time to evaluate the structure is before a dispute, financing issue, sale, or ownership conflict arises. Business owners should speak with counsel and tax advisors before forming or converting to a protected series LLC, and before moving assets or liabilities into a particular series.

At Hubbard Snitchler & Parzianello, we help business owners think through these issues in practical terms: how the structure will work, how it will be documented, how it will be managed, and how it will hold up if challenged. Florida’s protected series LLC law may become a valuable planning option, but only when used carefully and with a clear understanding of the business goals behind it.

Contact Eric at eparzianello@hspplc.com with any questions on how this new structure could be right for your business.