Florida Statute 55.601
“Uniform Out-of-Country Foreign Money-Judgment Recognition Act; short title”
What it means
This is the short-title section: §§55.601–55.607 may be cited as the 'Uniform Out-of-Country Foreign Money-Judgment Recognition Act.' The Act it names is the doorway for a money judgment rendered in another country — once recognized under the Act, the foreign judgment can be enforced in Florida like a domestic one.
For an estate, that matters in two directions: a creditor of the decedent holding a judgment from abroad, or a decedent who won one and left it as an asset.
- §§55.601–55.607 carry the short title 'Uniform Out-of-Country Foreign Money-Judgment Recognition Act.'
- The Act governs recognition of out-of-country money judgments; recognition is what makes them enforceable in Florida courts.
- Recognition is a separate step from collecting against an estate — the probate claim deadlines in §733.702 and §733.710 still apply.
How it plays out
This Act reaches probate when a judgment from another country meets a Florida estate — and the two proceedings run on different clocks. Recognition under the Act takes as long as the circuit court takes; the claim windows in §733.702 and the absolute 2-year bar in §733.710 keep running the whole time. A foreign judgment holder who treats recognition and the probate claim as one process usually files the claim too late. The statement of claim goes in first; recognition can catch up.
Questions people ask
