Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

Time to have an attorney look into it. If you owed the hospital money they would have had to have sued you and obtained a judgment before they could file a judgment lien. Judgment liens are usually filed in the county where the debtors live. It may be too late to undo the judgment but judgment liens can expire if not renewed. And sometimes these things can be mistakes, but you don't say it is!

Do a little homework first, then see a real estate attorney. I suggest a trip to the courthouse to review the court file and make copies of the documents that contain any substance (the details of the claim, who was served with papers and how, ...). Take the information to an attorney who can review whether there was actually a lien, whether it has expired and whether the judgment should be dealt with by either contacting the creditor's counsel or filing something in court. There are two elements here. First, you may be able to deal with the lien and clear your title, but that may still leave the judgment itself that may impact you again in the future. I also encourage you to leave your home mortgage-free if at all possible. Especially be careful about a line of credit that will be easy to go back to from time to time. Before you know it, you will have fully borrowed against it. Then, you won't have that well of money to go back to and you will have the payments to make. Are there alternatives to meeting your needs or can you get by without?