15 year old judgment?

Generally a judgment is good for 10 years, but can continually be renewed. There are no statute of limitations per se.

You can go down to the courthouse and inquire as to whether that judgment is still in effect. Your papers should indicate the docket number. These vary by state, so I can't give you a for instance.

If the court clerk inquires, simply state you are looking to purchase a property, and wanted to know if there might be a lien against a property due to the fact that the owner had a judgment against him.

Now, there doesn't have to be a lien on the property. If the creditor (plaintiff in the case) finds out about the sale an possible profits, they can garnish the proceeds of the sale.

There is a way out though. You can proffer a Quit Claim Deed for the sale price. Though, the sale will have to be in cash, as no lending institution would finance a sale by quit claim.

Of course, you will have to declare the proceeds of the sale on your income taxes. Should you have lived there for more than two years, capital gains taxes would be exempt.

The creditor could send you a statement of assets, that would require you to declare what assets you have, including your house, and garnish those he is allowed to by law. Small claims doesn't generally allow seizure of property only cash.

Good Luck

If it was placed as a lien on your property it will have to be paid off as well as the mortgage - no matter what the age.

HOWEVER, it doesn't seem like this is a lien on the property you recently acquired. Unless by recently, you mean more than 15 years. Was the judgement setup to be cross collatoralized in the event you acquired additional property?

You should not have to pay off someone elses judgement unless through inheritance.

Probably. Statute of limitations is generally 7 years, but I don't know if that applies to judgements.

did you have a title abstract done before you bought the property?