However, former Section 17302(c)(2) of the Corporations Code provided that at any time before foreclosure, another member could buy the charged member's interest with other assets.  The beauty of this provision is that it did not state the price or the terms of the purchase.  Therefore we were able to draft the LLC agreement to allow another member, typically an irrevocable trust for the benefit of the children, to buy the charged member's interest (the parent's interest) for a 30 year, interest-only installment note at a value which took into account valuation adjustments for lack of control and lack of marketability.  The purpose of this provision was not to actually have the parent's interest purchased but to motivate the creditor to settle for pennies on the dollar. 

Effective January 1, 2014, that section was replaced by Section 17705.03(d) which provides that, instead, another member can buy the charged member's interest by "pay[ing] to the judgment creditor the full amount due under the judgment...."  As a result of that change, an LLC is not an attractive vehicle to discourage some future creditor.  (Of course we never want to discourage a current creditor as that would be a fraudulent transfer.)

However, the comparable provision for creditors of limited partners has not changed.  Section 15907.03(c)(2) provides precisely what the prior LLC law provided: another partner may buy the charged partner's interest with other assets, and that law does not prescribe the price or terms.  So the artful drafting of the partnership agreement and structuring of the partnership interests is the key to the positive result.

Of course you also need a significant non-creditor purpose for the existence of the partnership.  Otherwise, it may be viewed - in a future action - as being merely a creditor protection device.  Most importantly, you want the structure in place now so that 4 years - preferably 7 years - passes by before you have a problem.  Both tax planning and creditor planning are like a fine Madeira: the older it is, the better it tastes.