A client suffered a judgment twelve years ago, and the creditor recorded the judgment in the county where the debtor resides. The debtor has moved to a new home in 2013, and he rented the old home. He may move back in to the old home after the term of the lease. He asks whether the judgment would still be a lien on his old homestead. There are two issues in this question: did the debtor abandon his homestead by renting the property so as to lose his Florida homestead exemption , and whether the recorded judgment remains a lien on the property at the time he moved away. Generally, renting your home to third parties and moving to a new primary residence constitutes an abandonment of your former homestead and loss of homestead exemption. The exemption could me maintained if the debtor proved he had always intended to move back to his former home. In this case, abandonment of homestead is not a practical issue because the judgment lien may have expired. Florida Statutes provide that a creditor creates a lien on all the debtor’s real property in any particular county by recording a certified copy of the final judgment with the court in the same county. A recorded judgment remains a lien for 10 years, but the creditor may re-record and extend the lien up to a maximum of 20 years from the date the judgment was entered. In this case, assuming the creditor did not re-record his certified judgment the lien on the property expired by the time the debtor rented the house. The debtor could sell or finance the property today free of the lien. Even if the lien had been extended, the debtor probably could insure title by moving back in to the house prior to sale or refinance. The post How Long Does Judgment Attach To Real Property? appeared first on Florida Asset Protection Law Blog .
How Long Does Judgment Attach To Real Property? is a post from: New Asset Protection Blog - Asset Management - Asset Allocation
