A recent article in the New York Times provides a reminder of how flexible and versatile limited liability companies have become.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife recently announced that they would eventually give away 99% of their shares of Facebook during their lifetimes.  When they said that they would use a company to implement this plan, most people would have expected that entity to be a non-profit corporation.  But Mr. Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, decided to use a Delaware limited liability company to help implement their strategy.  An LLC will provide more flexibility for investing in for-profit social enterprises and also for supporting certain political activities.

The key point is that when the Facebook CEO and his wife wanted a flexible business entity–they chose a limited liability company.

LLCs are not the only option for new business ventures.  But they are often a good choice.  Keep in mind that state LLC statutes can have significant variations.  Mr. Zuckerberg and his wife chose a Delaware LLC; and I am certain their advisors made that choice after a careful analysis of many different factors.  But even for those with far less net worth than Facebook’s owner — a limited liability company is frequently a good choice for a new business related activity.