Attachments and Liens

The most powerful weapon of a potential legal adversary is the ability to freeze your assets. When your bank account is frozen, it means nothing can be moved. You cannot pay your bills or run your business or withdraw your money. Your residence, rental property, or business can also be attached. You can't collect rents or income, and your property cannot be sold or refinanced.

The plaintiff can attach your property during or after the lawsuit. An attachment during the case is known as a pre-judgment attachment. After the case is decided, it is called a judgment lien. A pre-judgment attachment is only granted in certain types of cases, generally those involving a contract dispute over a particular amount of money.

A judgment lien applies if the plaintiff receives an award in his favor. The judgment lien immediately attaches to all real estate in your name, all bank accounts, brokerage accounts, and other assets. A lien acts like a mortgage or trust deed. You cannot sell or refinance a property without paying off the creditor, and he can foreclose on the real estate and seize any accounts in your name. A creditor with a judgment lien clearly holds all of the cards. You have no leverage and no room to negotiate. At that point he has got you. You are trapped and there is no way out. Certainly that is not the position you want to be in when you deal with an adversary.