CREATING AND REVIVING JUDGMENT LIENS IN ILLINOIS

In Illinois, a judgment from an Illinois state court, or a federal court located in Illinois, becomes a lien on real property only after a transcript, certified copy, or memorandum of the judgment is recorded at the office of the county recorder in the county where the property is located. 735 ILCS 5/12-101. Recording of the judgment is necessary even if the property is located in the same county where the judgment was entered.

Likewise, a judgment from a state or federal court located in another state may create a lien in Illinois if the requirements of 735 ILCS 5/12-650 et seq., the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, are met. The out-of-state judgment must be filed with the county clerk's office, receive a file number, and include an affidavit setting forth the name and last known post office address of both the judgment debtor and creditor. Also, the clerk must mail notice of the filing of the out-of-state judgment to the judgment debtor, as well as the name and post office address of the judgment creditor and the judgment creditor's lawyer in Illinois, if any.

The judgment creditor may also mail notice and filing proof if the county clerk fails to send notice as required. 735 ILCS 5/12-653. Further, judgments from courts outside of the United States can generally be enforced in Illinois in the same manner as out-of-state judgments, with some exceptions as outlined in 735 ILCS 5/12-621.

Judgment liens do not last for the full twenty years that the judgment is enforceable. The lien will expire seven years from the time it is recorded. 735 ILCS 5/12-101. However, real estate that has been levied upon within the seven-year period is allowed one additional year to be sold to enforce the judgment. 735 ILCS 5/12-108.

Revival of a judgment is possible at any time within twenty years from the date the final judgment was entered. 735 ILCS 5/13-218. As in the case of the original judgment, the revived judgment becomes a lien on the real property only upon recording of the judgment in the appropriate county. Wolff v Groshong, 101 Ill App 3d 606, 428 NE2d 910 (1981). Just as the original judgment creates a lien when properly recorded, when a judgment is revived and the judgment lien is again perfected, that lien exists for an additional seven-year period. 735 ILCS 5/12-101.

Allowing a judgment lien to expire before it is revived can be risky; the lien's priority may be lost if additional liens were recorded against the property since the judgment lien was initially perfected. The priority of an expired and then revived lien will be determined by the recording date of the order to revive, not by the date of the original recording of the judgment. Therefore, even though a judgment lien can be revived at any point within the 20-year statutory period, the judgment creditor is in danger of losing lien priority if the revival is obtained after the seven-year lien period has expired. First National Bank in Toledo, 272 Ill App 3d at 116, 650 NE2d at 280.

For judgment liens where a bankruptcy has been filed, consult the Bankruptcy chapter of the ATG Basic Underwriting Handbook for specific guidelines.

© ATG UB1099vol4no4

 

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