A beneficial interest in a Florida spendthrift trust are generally excluded from a bankruptcy estate. Spendthrift trusts are defined under Florida law as “those trusts that are created with a view of providing a fund for the maintenance of another, and at the same time securing it against his own improvidence or incapacity for self-protection.” The purpose of a spendthrift trust is to protect the beneficiary from himself and his creditors.

Florida trusts containing spendthrift provisions are generally protected from the reach of creditors as long as the beneficiaries cannot exercise dominion over the trust assets. Self-funded trusts containing a spendthrift provision are generally not protected from the reach of creditors.  A valid spendthrift provision remains effective in bankruptcy to exclude the spendthrift trust from the bankruptcy estate.