Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

The first thing to do is make sure that the judgment was discharged in the bankruptcy. You say your husband filed bankruptcy. If the judgment was against you, not him, or against both of you, and you did not join in the bankruptcy, then the judgment lien is still valid. Assuming the judgment was properly discharged, then the first thing to do is make a demand on the judgment creditor to release the lien. If they refuse to do so, then there are a number of actions you can take against them in the courts. You would need to hire an attorney to help you, but there would be a good chance that the creditor would ultimately have to pay for the fees you incur. If they don't remove the lien you do have to go to court. Waiting ten years would work as well, but not if they renew the judgment.

Bankruptcy, if properly filed and the creditor listed, would have �discharged� the judgment. It still is on the records, of course, and will be forever. It just can�t be enforced if the debt was discharged.

Both answers are correct, except not all debts are discharged even if the creditor is listed. You need to consider carefully whether the judgment also affects a spouse who wasn't discharged, as Mr. McCormick indicates.

One possible solution not mentioned is to negotiate with the creditor to accept a much smaller sum than the judgment is for, in exchange for their recording a satisfaction or a release of lien.

Since judgment liens accumulate interest at 10%, some creditors are happy to just wait to take enforcement action if they are well secured by the property, even if the lien is good and foreclosure is possible at any time.