Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Virginia

Re: Judgement

To sell the property, you need to satisfy any judgments which are liens on the property at the time you sell. First, if the judgment was entered after title was transferred to you, it is not a lien. In other words, if the property was transferred in 1995 and the judgment was entered in 1996, it does not attach to the property (if the property was transferred as a gift, it could have been a fraudulent conveyance, but the judgment holder would have to file suit and prove this, and that's not a title issue until such suit is filed). The next question is whether the judgment has expired. Assuming the property is in VA, a 1995 circuit court judgment would be valid and enforcerable and be a lien for 20 years from the date of entry, but a General District Court judgment is only valid for 10 years. In either case the judgment can be renewed, but if it wasn't, a 1995 or 1996 General District Court judgment has expired. If the property is in MD, a judgment is good for 12 years from entry, so a 1995 judgment expires this year unless renewed.