placing a lien

Hmmmm – it is very unusual for liens to be placed on an asset or property except by the lender that financed the purchase and/or the government.

What’s more common is that a creditor or collection agent applies to the Court for a Judgment against you for some unpaid debt. The Judgment is registered with the Sheriff’s office and entitles the creditor to payment if/when you sell your assets. Many people call these things liens when in fact they are not.

It is quite a simple matter for a creditor to obtain a Judgment – if they use Samll Claims Court they are only required to mail you the notice of the hearing. If your address has changed and you haven’t told the creditor of your new address then there’s no way for you to receive the notice. This happens a lot.

If a Judgment has been issued against you your options include: hiring a lawyer to contest the Judgment, allowing the Judgment to be paid out when something of yours is sold, paying out the Judgment yourself, filing a proposal to creditors, or by filing for bankruptcy.

If someone has a Judgment against you then you should make arrangements to speak to either a lawyer (if you want to dispute it) or a trustee (if you want to file a proposal or bankruptcy). This is not something you should deal with by yourself unless you intention is simply to pay it.