Judgment Liens Attorney

Giving You Personalized & Dedicated Attention

Many individuals do not seek bankruptcy protection in time, which allows creditors to place involuntary or judgment liens on their assets such homes, cars, or bank accounts. SM Law Group, APC will help to avoid these liens before they happen.

What is a Judgment Lien?

A judgment lien is an amount of money that has been secured by any collateral that is generally placed against a home or any property belonging to the owner of the property.

Nearly all of your property can have a judgment lien attached to it, including:

• Real estate: A judgment lien can impact your real estate, and the creditor only receives the amount remaining after paying off mortgages and sales costs.
• Personal property: Judgment liens on personal property is known to be ineffective, as most personal property can be protected using an exemption.
• Vehicles: A judgment lien may be placed on any car, motorcycle, truck, or motor vehicle you own, and can lead to vehicle repossession.

How a Lien Can Impact Your Finances

Generally, a judgment lien is the last step that a creditor has taken in order to enforce its judgment against a debtor. At first glance it may not seem like a big deal that you have a lien against your house; after all, you probably already have one or two mortgages against your property and with today’s declining property values that is barely any equity in most people’s homes. However, what happens if you want to refinance your home to either take some money out or simply just lower the interest rate? This is where a lien against your home can create a sizeable financial burden for the homeowner.

A simple $4,000 judgment lien can grow to tens of thousands of dollars over the years; the interest rate on these liens can be as much as 15%. For example, a simple $4,000 lien can grow in interest to over $10,600 in just over eight years. These liens do not just disappear but will be paid in full when the homeowner wants to refinance or even sell their property.

How Do You Remove a Lien?

A judgment lien can be resolved in a variety of ways:

• Paying off the debt. If you have a valid lien, paying the creditor in full will effectively remove the lien.
• Negotiating with creditors. Work with an attorney to help you work out a settlement with the creditor. It may be possible to reduce the owed amounts or negotiate your monthly payments.
• Obtaining a court order to remove lien. If your lien was obtained through illegitimate means, your attorney can request that the judge remove your lien.
• Filing for bankruptcy. Bankruptcy can help you get rid of most judgments. The automatic stay in a bankruptcy can also halt judgment enforcement actions and buy you time to sort out your finances.

Make sure that you take action immediately, as fighting a lien can be a time-sensitive matter.

How Long Does a Lien Stay on Your Property in California?

In California, a judgment lien is attached to the property for 10 years, and can remain on the property even if the owner changes.

Contact Our Lawyers to Learn More About Removing Liens

At SM Law Group, APC, our attorneys are experts in removing these liens not only from your properties but getting rid of them for good, so in a few short years you will have the option of selling or refinancing a property without having the extra burden of a judgment lien that was placed from an old credit card debt or a car repossession.