Section 1.9 Creation of the Lien

• Library: Creditors' Remedies (2009 Ed. + 2014 Supp)

A. (§1.9) Creation of the Lien

Perhaps the strongest weapon in the judgment creditor's arsenal is the lien created by the judgment. Except in the case of associate, small claims, and municipal divisions of the circuit courts, judgments and decrees rendered by a court of record are liens on the real estate of the defendant that is located in the county within which the court is situated. Section 511.350, RSMo Supp. 2008. While Rule 74.08 states that "the lien of a judgment commences upon entry of the judgment," no specific rule indicates that a judgment is a lien on real estate in the county where the judgment was rendered. Rule 74.13, however, provides that a judgment is a lien on real estate upon the filing of a transcript "in the office of the clerk of the circuit court of any county other than the one in which the judgment was obtained." Implicit in this is that Rule 74.08 creates a lien on real estate located in the county where the judgment was rendered.

As noted above, Rule 74.13 provides for the creation of a lien in another county upon the filing of a transcript of the judgment "in the office of the clerk of the circuit court of any county other than the one in which the judgment was obtained." Statutorily, creating a lien in another county is addressed at § 511.440, RSMo 2000, under which a lien created by the transcript exists to the same extent and for the same time as the lien of the judgment in the county where the judgment was rendered. See § 511.470, RSMo 2000; Rule 74.13(c).

The lien commences as of the day of the rendition of an in personam judgment and continues for ten years thereafter. Section 511.360...