Legal Question in Bankruptcy in Virginia

Relief From Lien

A creditor won a judgement then filed a lien against my home in Fairfax County, VA in 1991. This same creditor, and the amount of the judgement, was specifically included in a bankruptcy filing that was conluded in 1993, naming that debt to be fully discharged. I did not know of the lien against my home until my wife and I sought to sell it this year and it came up during title search. Was the lien made void through the bankruptcy discharge of the claim? Was the creditor and/or their legal counsel responsible/obligated to make our attorney aware of the lien when they were notified as a creditor with the bankruptcy petition? The original judgement included interest on the unpaid balance which has essentially quadrupled the original claim.


Asked on 11/15/05, 6:49 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Burton Haynes Burton J. Haynes, P.C.

Re: Relief From Lien

In your statement of facts, you illustrate the essential misconception that most people have when filing bankruptcy -- you say that the debt AND THE LIEN were specifically listed and discharged. Actually, the bankruptcy discharge relieves you of your personal liability for the debt. But it does not, in and of itself, eliminate the lien on the property. That's why creditors get liens on property, and why when they do they are called "secured" creditors. Liens survive bankruptcy, unless certain additional actions are taken in the case (falling under the general description of "lien stripping").

The place to start in figuring out what to do here is to go back to the attorney who handled your bankruptcy and ask whether anything was done in the case to specifically address the lien, separate and apart from your personal liability for the underlying debt.

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Answered on 11/15/05, 7:53 am


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