Judgment Lien On Property In Florida
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Florida Statute 55.081 states that a judgment is enforceable for 20 years. A judgment does not have to be recorded to be valid. Even without recording, a creditor can garnish bank accounts, levy personal property, and pursue other collection actions during the 20-year life of the judgment.
Renewing or Reviving a Judgment A Florida judgment lien on property expires 10 years after a certified copy of the judgment is recorded in the county where the property is located.
A person can avoid paying a civil judgment with their earnings if they qualify as the head of household. The Florida statute defines earnings as wages, salary, commission, or bonus. Other types of earnings for labor have been held to also qualify for the head of household exemption.
55.081 Statute of limitations, lien of judgment. —Subject to the provisions of s. 55.10, no judgment, order, or decree of any court shall be a lien upon real or personal property within the state after the expiration of 20 years from the date of the entry of such judgment, order, or decree.
In Florida, a judgment lien has a limited lifespan of ten years from the date of its issuance by the court. ingly, the judgment creditor must renew the lien to keep the lien in effect beyond these ten years by filing a renewal affidavit with the Clerk of Court in the court responsible for the initial judgment.
The Length of a Judgment A judgment is good, and can be enforced, for up to 20 years. That seems like a long time, and it is. A judgment is good for 10 years and Florida allows a creditor to “renew” a judgment before the expiration of the 10 years for an additional 10 years, thus giving a judgment almost unending life.
To attach a lien, the creditor must record the judgment with the county recorder in any Florida county where the debtor owns real estate now or may own real estate in future. For liens on personal property, the creditor files the judgment with the Florida Department of State.
Online via an Official Records portal: Most Florida circuit clerk offices provide an Official Records Search portal on their websites, which interested persons can access to find liens on a property, including tax liens registered by taxing authorities.
After filing the “Notice to Owner,” the official lien is to be filed within 90 days of the final furnishings of service or 90 days from the termination of the contract between the general contractor and the owner, whichever comes first.
