The Short Answer
The trust most people picture, a domestic asset protection trust (DAPT) that you create, benefit from, and still keep away from your own creditors, does not exist in Florida. Florida follows the traditional rule: if you can reach the assets, so can your creditors. About twenty states allow DAPTs; Florida is not one of them. The upside is that Florida already gives residents some of the strongest built-in asset protection in the country, so most people do not need a special trust at all.
What Actually Protects Your Assets in Florida
- Unlimited homestead on your primary residence (no dollar cap, unlike most states).
- Tenancy by the entirety for married couples, shielding jointly held property from one spouse’s creditors.
- Statutory exemptions for retirement accounts, annuities, life insurance, and head-of-household wages.
- Multi-member LLCs (charging-order protection) for rental and business assets.
- Irrevocable trusts for assets you are genuinely willing to give up control of, the same structure used in Medicaid planning.
A real plan layers these. For many Floridians, the homestead and exemptions alone protect more than a DAPT would elsewhere.
Worried about a lawsuit or a creditor?
Book a free 30-minute consult. We will tell you honestly how much protection you actually need, and build only that.
Book your free consultWhat About a Nevada or Delaware DAPT?
You can set up another state’s DAPT, but it is uncertain whether a Florida court would honor it against a Florida creditor, conflict-of-laws rules may apply Florida’s policy instead. It is not a guaranteed shield for a Florida resident, and it adds cost and complexity. An offshore trust is the more aggressive version of the same idea, and usually overkill. We give you a straight assessment rather than sell you a trust you may not need.
The Catch: Timing
Whatever the tool, it has to be in place before a claim arises. Florida’s fraudulent-transfer law lets creditors unwind transfers made to dodge an existing or foreseeable debt, so protection set up after a lawsuit looms can be undone. Done early, the layers hold. See the full asset-protection picture →
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Set Up an Asset Protection Trust in Florida?
Not the kind most people mean. A "domestic asset protection trust" (DAPT) is a trust you create, can benefit from, and still shield from your own creditors. About twenty states allow them; Florida does not. Under Florida law, if you can reach the assets in a trust, so can your creditors, a self-settled trust does not protect you here. The good news is that Florida gives residents some of the strongest built-in asset protection in the country without any special trust, so most people do not need a DAPT at all.
Why Doesn’t Florida Allow Asset Protection Trusts?
Florida follows the traditional rule that you cannot put your own assets in a trust, keep the benefit of them, and still hide them from the people you owe. A self-settled spendthrift trust is reachable by the settlor’s creditors in Florida. That sounds like bad news, but Florida makes up for it with unusually generous exemptions, an unlimited homestead, protected retirement accounts, annuities, and life insurance, that often protect more than a DAPT would in other states.
What Actually Protects Assets in Florida?
Florida’s built-in tools do most of the work: the unlimited homestead exemption on your primary residence, tenancy by the entirety for married couples, and statutory exemptions for retirement accounts, annuities, life insurance, and head-of-household wages. On top of that, rental and business assets can be held in properly structured multi-member LLCs for charging-order protection, and an irrevocable trust can protect assets you are genuinely willing to give up control of (the same structure used for Medicaid planning). The right plan layers these.
Can I Use Another State’s DAPT (Nevada, Delaware) While Living in Florida?
You can set one up, but it is uncertain whether a Florida court would honor it against a Florida creditor, because conflict-of-laws rules may apply Florida’s policy instead of the trust state’s. It is not a guaranteed shield for a Florida resident, and it adds cost and complexity. For many people, Florida’s own exemptions plus proper entities do the job more reliably. We will give you a straight assessment rather than sell you an out-of-state trust you may not need.
Is an Irrevocable Trust the Same as Asset Protection?
An irrevocable trust can protect assets, but only the ones you truly give up control over. If you keep the right to revoke it or benefit from it freely, it does not protect you in Florida. A properly structured irrevocable trust (for example, a Medicaid asset protection trust) shields the assets inside it precisely because you no longer own or control them. That trade-off, giving up control for protection, is the heart of the decision, and not everyone should make it.
When Should I Set Up Asset Protection?
Before there is any claim, while you are solvent. Florida’s fraudulent-transfer law lets creditors unwind transfers made to dodge a debt that already exists or is foreseeable, so protection put in place after a lawsuit looms can be set aside. Done early and correctly, the layers hold. We map a plan at the free consult and tell you honestly how much protection you actually need.
Common Situations
The physician. A doctor fears a malpractice judgment and wants an asset protection trust. We show that her homestead, retirement accounts, and a properly structured practice entity already protect most of what she has, no DAPT needed, and layer the rest.
The out-of-state trust that may not hold. A Florida resident set up a Nevada DAPT online. We flag that a Florida court may not honor it against a Florida creditor, and build a Florida-law structure that is more reliable for him.
Sources of Law
- Fla. Stat. §736.0505 (a self-settled trust’s assets remain reachable by the settlor’s creditors, so Florida is not a DAPT state). Florida exemptions: Art. X §4 (homestead); §222.11 (wages), §222.13/.14 (life insurance, annuities), §222.21 (retirement). Fraudulent transfers: ch. 726. (retrieved 2026-06-08)
Updated on June 8, 2026. Reviewed by Kevin D. Klagge, Esq., Fla. Bar No. 99502. General information about Florida law, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created. Asset protection must be planned before a claim arises and depends on your facts; no result is guaranteed. Do not send confidential information until we have agreed to represent you.