Judicial Lien Law and Legal Definition
Judicial lien is a lien obtained by judgment, levy, sequestration or other legal or equitable process or proceeding. If a court finds that a debtor owes money to a creditor and the judgment remains unsatisfied, the creditor can ask the court to impose a lien on specific property owned and possessed by the debtor. After imposing the lien, the court issues a writ directing the local sheriff to seize the property, sell it and turn over the proceeds to the creditor.
Under Bankruptcy proceedings, a creditor can obtain a judicial lien by filing a final judgment issued against a debtor through a lawsuit filed in state court. A certified copy of a final judgment may be filed in the county in which the debtor owns real property. A bankruptcy debtor can file a motion to avoid Judicial Lien. A Motion to avoid Judicial Lien can be filed by a debtor in either a chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy proceeding. In a Chapter 7 proceeding, an Order Avoiding Judicial Lien will remove the debt totally.
