Can creditors reach a trust after death?

For a revocable trust, often yes. During the settlor’s life, property in their revocable trust is available to their creditors as if they owned it directly, except for property that would be exempt anyway (§ 736.0505). After death, the trust is liable for the estate’s administration expenses and debts to the extent the probate estate cannot pay them (§ 733.707(3)). The personal representative can certify the shortfall in writing, and the trustee must pay it (§ 736.05053).

Irrevocable trusts are different: whether creditors can reach them depends on what the settlor kept, such as the right to receive distributions.

Why a revocable trust does not shield debts

A revocable trust is mainly a management and probate-avoidance tool. Because the settlor can take the property back at any time, Florida treats it as available to the settlor’s creditors during life (§ 736.0505). At death, Florida law makes the trust a backup source of payment for the estate: if the probate estate is insufficient after statutory entitlements and non-residuary gifts, the personal representative is entitled to payment from the trustee (§ 733.607(2)).

How the trustee pays

When the personal representative certifies in writing the amount needed for estate expenses and obligations, the trustee must pay it to the personal representative (§ 736.05053). Unless the settlor directed otherwise, the payment comes first from the trust’s residue and then from other trust gifts in a set order. Some assets are excluded, such as certain retirement-plan trusts and death benefits payable to the trustee, unless the trust instrument expressly says otherwise (§ 733.707, § 736.05053). The trust’s beneficiaries and the estate’s beneficiaries share the burden as if they took under one instrument (§ 733.805(4)).

Because of this, a trustee of a revocable trust is an interested person in estate proceedings about expenses and claims (§ 731.201).

Irrevocable trusts

For an irrevocable trust, a creditor of the settlor may reach the most the trustee could distribute to or for the settlor. If the settlor cannot benefit at all, the settlor’s creditors generally cannot reach the trust. A trustee’s discretionary power alone does not expose the trust (§ 736.0505). The specific terms and funding history matter.

What changes the answer

Whether the trust was revocable at death
Whether the probate estate is large enough to pay the debts on its own
Whether a probate estate has been opened, and a personal representative appointed to certify a shortfall
What kind of asset the trust holds (some retirement and death-benefit assets are excluded)
For an irrevocable trust, whether the settlor could receive distributions

An example

A mother’s revocable trust holds her house and brokerage account. Her probate estate is only a $3,000 checking account, but she owed $25,000 in medical bills that were timely filed as claims. The personal representative certifies the $22,000 shortfall to the trustee (her son), who must pay it from the trust before distributing the rest to the beneficiaries.

Common mistakes

Distributing all trust assets immediately after death, before estate debts are known
Assuming “no probate” means “no creditors”
Overlooking claims filed in a probate case the trustee did not open
Treating an irrevocable trust as protected without reading what the settlor kept

What to gather

The trust and every amendment
A list of trust assets and how each was transferred to the trust
A list of probate assets (anything left in the decedent’s own name)
Known debts, filed claims, and the probate case number, if any

Next step

A successor trustee should find out whether debts exceed the probate assets before making distributions. If they might, coordinate with the personal representative, or consider whether an estate needs to be opened so the claims process can run.

Related guidance

Sources: Florida Statutes § 731.201, § 733.607, § 733.707, § 733.805, § 736.0505, and § 736.05053 (2026). Checked on October 23, 2026.