The rulebook
that runs your LLC.

Florida does not require an LLC to have a written operating agreement — which is exactly why so many disputes start here. Without one, your company is governed by the default rules of the Florida Revised LLC Act (Chapter 605), and those defaults rarely match what the owners actually intended. They split profits in ways you didn't agree to, let members block one another, and leave no clean process for buying out a departing owner.

A well-drafted operating agreement replaces those defaults with your rules. It is the document your bank asks for when you open accounts or borrow, the one investors and buyers review in diligence, and the one a court reads first if owners ever fall out. Getting it right at the start is far cheaper than litigating its absence later.

What a strong operating agreement settles

Ownership and capital: who owns what percentage, what each member contributed, and whether anyone is obligated to put in more later. Management: whether the LLC is member-managed or manager-managed, who can sign contracts and bind the company, and which decisions need a supermajority or unanimous vote.

Money: how profits and losses are allocated, when distributions are made, and how tax obligations are handled. Change and exit: what happens when a member wants out, dies, divorces, becomes disabled, defaults or simply stops contributing — including how the buyout price is set and paid. These transfer and buy-sell provisions are the heart of the agreement and the part templates almost always get wrong.

Single-member LLCs need one too

If you're the only owner, an operating agreement still earns its keep. It reinforces the liability shield that keeps your personal assets separate from the business, satisfies banks and lenders, and puts a plan in place for the day you add a partner, take on an investor, or sell. It also names who steps in if something happens to you — a small piece of succession planning baked into the company itself.