September 18, 2014

A recent case highlights some of the questions surrounding the situation mentioned in the title. According to the default rule in New York, the death of a member doesn’t trigger a dissolution of the LLC unless the survivors vote to take action on dissolving.

There are a few important outcomes of this new default rule, known as 701b in the New York LLC law. First, executors only have limited powers in their ability to exercise member rights or to become members themselves. Second, family members who inherit a deceased member’s interests are not admitted for official membership unless those other members consent to this. Third, without such consent, the inheriting family member retains only economic interest, not management or voting powers. Finally, these individuals can be considered non-members and do not have any decision making authority when it comes to judicial dissolutions or mergers and consolidations.

One example of this rule in action is the Budis case. An executor-husband of his late wife had his case dismissed against other LLC members for lack of standing. The operating agreement stated that the death of a member was seen as a voluntary withdrawal, and the estate thus became an interest holder but not a member per se. The solution is to include something in the operating agreement stating that a family member or executor inheriting the deceased’s LLC interest should be treated as a member of the LLC with all rights and powers afforded to other LLC members. To learn more about protecting your interests in an LLC, contact us today info@lawesq.net or via phone at 732-521-9455