§ 3.22.1 Judgment Liens|Homestead

• Jurisdiction: Arizona

§ 3.22.1 Judgment Liens/Homestead . A certified copy of a judgment, when recorded, becomes a lien on all real property then owned or thereafter acquired by the judgment debtor in the county in which the judgment is recorded, except for the judgment debtor’s homestead. A.R.S. §§ 33-961 , -964 . The judgment creditor must attach to the judgment a separate information statement containing the information required under A.R.S. § 33-967(A) . The judgment debtor’s social security number is to be included only if it was provided voluntarily to the judgment creditor by the judgment debtor. A.R.S. § 33-967(B) . Effective January 1, 2005, the statement may include no more than five digits of the judgment debtor’s social security number. A.R.S. § 44-1373(G) . Most creditors include only the last four digits.

The homestead exemption in Arizona is currently $150,000. A.R.S. § 33-1101(A ). A.R.S. § 33-964(B) provides:

Except as provided in § 33-1103, a recorded judgment shall not become a lien on any homestead property. Any person entitled to a homestead on real property as provided by law holds the homestead property free and clear of the judgment lien.

Before the statute was amended in 2007, an argument could be made that by not...