Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: judgment lien from divorce

In a short sale, unless your lien is going to be paid in full out of the sale proceeds, you would have to voluntarily agree to accept less than the full amount and release your lien before she can close escrow. As such, you are protected right up to the point where she comes to you and says "you need to release your lien and accept [anywhere from nothing to something short of all of what you are owed] or the escrow won't close and you won't get a dime when I lose the property in foreclosure!" You will have to make a judgment call at that point. You might contact the realtor and ask (discretely) if the short sale is pre-approved by the lenders, and if that is the case, then she might be planning on paying you in full. That's probably not the case, and once she has an offer, you will probably be receiving a phone call asking you to take less than you are owed. You don't have to, but like all other lenders, you have to decide if you want to risk losing your entire security, or accept less than the full amount. By the way, you don't have to forever give up on collecting whatever you don't get out of escrow - it just won't be secured by the house any longer. Good luck.

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Re: judgment lien from divorce

Hopefully your lien was properly recorded. Contact me directly if you have problems or are pressured to compromise.