Removing a lien against your homestead

To remove a lien against your homestead, you must now go to court, give proper notice to creditor, and have the court order that the property is your homestead and the judgment or lien is not a lien against your home.

Attorney Tom Olsen: Julie, you're on news 96.5. Go ahead.

Julie: Hi, you addressed an issue with leaving a mechanic's lien?

Attorney Tom Olsen: Yes.

Julie: Well, my ex-husband, while we were separated, had a car repossessed and its 10 years ago. I want to sell the house now and I find that there is a lien. A bank lien, it's a judgment lien on that house. I want to discharge it and if it's a homestead, I think there is some kind of form I have to fill out with the clerk's, file something with the clerk?

Attorney Tom Olsen: First of all Julie, they used to call them mechanic's lien when somebody put a lien on your home for furnishing either labor or materials to improve your home. They used to call them mechanic's liens, now they call them construction liens. What you have against your home is a judgment lien. They got a judgment against your husband, they recorded it in the public records of Orange County and it is there. Julie, if you want to sell your home, you have to do a legal proceeding where you have the court declare that this is your homestead and therefore that judgment lien is not a lien against it. The good news is, Julie yes you can get around it, the bad news is, it requires I think a fairly simple legal proceeding to do so. Attorney Rob Solomon at our office is one lawyer that does that kind of work. Julie, does that answer your question for you?

Julie: Does it matter that we're divorced and it's like 10 years ago?

Attorney Tom Olsen: If that was put on there while you were still married, it is still a lien against your home and needs to be removed via this legal action that I'm speaking of.

Julie: Okay, not just filing to declare that it's my homestead?

Attorney Tom Olsen: It is like that Julie. I don't do them personally so I don't know exactly the process but again attorney Rob Solomon at our office is the guy that does it. Julie, you can hang up with me and you can call Rob at our office right now at-

Julie: Okay.

Attorney Tom Olsen: 407-423-5561. Now, Chrissy, I've been a lawyer for 35 years and up till probably 10 years ago, when somebody was selling their home and there was a judgement lien against husband, wife or both of them they could avoid that judgement lien simply by signing an affidavit that says, "This is my homestead, therefore this judgement lien is not a lien against this piece of property because it's my homestead." The Florida court struck that down as a lack of due process. Not giving due process an opportunity for the judgment creditor to come in and say, "Hey that's not your homestead, you're lying on that affidavit." Now, you can still avoid judgment lien against your homestead but it requires that you go to court, give testimony to the judge that this is really your homestead. Showing electric bills, driver's license, voter registration and then the court can see and give notice to these judgment creditors and then the court could say, "Yes this is your homestead, therefore, this is not a lien against your property."

Chrissy: The point is, there's more to it now.

Attorney Tom Olsen: More to it now, yes. Hey folks, my name is Tom Olsen. The name of the show is Olsen on Law, you're listening to News 96.5.