Refinancing my home and was told a lien had been placed on our property by a attoreny on behalf of Wells Fargo. Regarding an auto loan dispute my husband had with WF over 25 years ago before we were married.

I got copies of the documents from the county of records that in 1993 this attorney filed a money judgment for Wells Fargo. In 2002 we bought our home and in 2003 this attoreny filed a property lien and the amount due has doubled.

I contacted Wells Fargo and they show no record of a debit or placing a lien on our property. They also gave us a loan on another car since then without any problems.

I tried contacting this attorney to prove that we owe this debit requesting a copy of the original contract. I called the last known phone number and it is no longer in service and the web is showing his office closed and is 86 years old.

What do I do now to get this a Release of Lien Satisfaction and would this attoreny be intitled to this money judgment if Wells Fargo shows no debit owed?

... What do I do now to get this a Release of Lien Satisfaction and would this attoreny be intitled to this money judgment if Wells Fargo shows no debit owed?

So the attorney obtained a judgment in behalf of Wells Fargo some 25 years ago and recorded it. You could, I suppose, sue Wells Fargo to remove the cloud on your title, but the fact is your husband owes the debt. The fact that WF has lost track of it is of no consequence. I don't know if the attorney has a claim on it; chances are he's dead. Look him up with your state's bar association.

Offer them a portion in exchange for a release of the judgment.

Did you purchase a title insurance policy at the time you purchased your home? If so then the judgment should have appeared in the title search. If the judgment was not listed as an exception in the title policy then the title company will have to defend you and take action to clear the title. Contact the title company that issued the policy.

If you did not purchase a title insurance policy then you will have to negotiate with Wells Fargo to have them issue a release of the judgment.

Lisa, as I read it, the re-fi has not been approved as of yet. At some point after they bought the place the judgment lien was recorded, evidently. The bank is apparently refusing to approve the loan unless the exception is removed.

The OP said a judgment was filed in 1993 and the property was purchased in 2002. If a judgment was filed prior to the purchase then it should have shown up in a judgment search.

Good catch.

But, upon reading it again I see this:


... In 2002 we bought our home and in 2003 this attoreny filed a property lien...

Evidently the suit was filed in '93 but the judgment was not recorded until '03, Since there is no mention of a lis pendens in '93, I don't think the title company is at fault.

Judgments should turn up on judgment searches as soon as the judgment is docketed with the court, not recorded with a county. The procedure may be different in the state where the OP is located but it's still worth a try with the title company. In any case the title company should be involved in trying to clear the cloud on title.

LisaB4657 and AK Lawyer

Thank you! Because of your advise I forward your reply to my title insurance and within one day I now have a name and phone number for my lender. So they can request a "Letter of Indemmity".

The 1st time I contacted my title insurance a couple of months ago about this, I was pretty much ignored.

Question: Will this letter remove the lien and money judgment recored by this unknown attorney or will we still have to deal with him?

Thanks again

You're still going to have to deal with getting the lien removed from the record but at least now the title company is on notice that you have a claim. Keep after your title company to have the situation resolved.

Good luck!

Keep in mind that (from what you have told us) this attorney is immaterial. The judgment is owned by Wells Fargo, not their attorney.

I would have to read the letter of indemnity, but my guess is that it would indemnify the new lender and thus will allow you to refinance. It wouldn't remove the judgment lien, but it would protect the new lender in case the owner of the judgment seeks to satisfy it by asserting a lien on the property.