What it means
Sentencing courts shall order restitution for damage or loss caused by the offense unless there are clear and compelling reasons not to — and must state those reasons on the record. 'Victim' includes the victim's estate if the victim is deceased, and the victim's next of kin when the death resulted from the offense. Where the offense caused bodily injury ending in death, the order must include funeral and related costs.
The order is enforceable in the same manner as a civil judgment: it bears interest, becomes a lien on the defendant's real estate when properly recorded, and is not dischargeable in bankruptcy.
- Restitution is the default at sentencing — ordered unless clear and compelling reasons exist, stated on the record.
- 'Victim' includes the victim's estate if deceased, and next of kin when the death resulted from the offense.
- A death case's order must cover funeral and related services along with medical costs and lost income.
- Enforceable as a civil judgment — interest accrues, and a recorded order liens the defendant's real estate.
- Not dischargeable in bankruptcy; the conviction estops the defendant from denying the offense in a later civil suit.
- Restitution paid is set off against any later independent civil recovery for the same conduct.
How it plays out
Restitution crosses our desk from both directions. An estate can be the payee: when the crime victim has died, the order runs to the estate, and the personal representative can record and enforce it like any judgment. An estate can also be the payor — a restitution order against a decedent doesn't evaporate at death; it becomes a claim in the probate, subject to the filing deadlines in §733.702. Either way, the estoppel and setoff rules in subsection (8) shape any parallel civil case.
Where this shows up
Pages on this site where § 775.089 does real work:
Questions people ask
