Judgment liens in Michigan

What to file, and where

The lien comes from a recording, and the office is fixed by where the dirt is.

In Michigan a judgment lien attaches to the debtor's interest in real property only once a notice of judgment lien is recorded in the land title records of the register of deeds for the county where the property is located. MCL 600.2803¹ names that act and that office. Attachment runs from the recording, or for property the debtor acquires later, from the moment the debtor acquires the interest.

This notice is not something a creditor drafts freehand. The clerk of the court that entered the judgment certifies it, and MCL 600.2805² lists what it must carry: the case caption and docket number, the creditor's and any attorney's current name and address, the debtor's name, the last 4 digits of the debtor's social security or tax identification number, and last known address, the current balance, the dates the judgment was entered and expires and the lien expires, and a signature. One thing it does not need is a legal description of the debtor's interest, which MCL 600.2805 says in so many words.

Then the debtor has to be told. A certified copy goes by certified mail to the debtor's last known address, with proof of service filed in the court that issued the judgment, under MCL 600.2805. And a threshold that catches people: if the judgment is for $25,000.00 or more, the certified copy must be personally served on the debtor, again with proof of service filed, under MCL 600.2805.

What it reaches

An encumbrance against land, and land the debtor does not own yet.

In Michigan a judgment lien is an encumbrance in favor of the creditor against the debtor's interest in real property, and MCL 600.2801³ writes after-acquired property into the definition itself. So a lien recorded today sits waiting on a parcel the debtor buys next year, attaching the moment that interest is acquired. Nobody has to visit the register again for that to happen.

How long it lasts, and renewing it

Five years from recording, with one rerecording allowed and a strict deadline on it.

A Michigan judgment lien expires 5 years after the date it is recorded, under MCL 600.2809⁴. Two things shorten that. If the underlying judgment expires first, the lien dies with it on the judgment's expiration date. And a debtor's bankruptcy or other insolvency filing does not stop the clock: MCL 600.2809 says the insolvency proceeding does not toll or suspend the period the lien is effective. So the clock runs while the debtor is in bankruptcy.

A lien may be rerecorded once, and only once. MCL 600.2809 requires a second certified notice of judgment lien to be recorded with the register of deeds not less than 120 days before the initial expiration date. Miss that window and there is no second chance. A rerecorded lien then runs 5 years from the date it is rerecorded, again cut short if the judgment expires first. For how these clocks compare across the country, see how long a judgment lien lasts.

Land in another county

The office follows the property, not the court.

Recording happens in the register of deeds for the county where the property is located, under MCL 600.2803. A debtor with a house in Wayne and a cottage in Leelanau is two recordings, not one. Wherever the court that entered the judgment sits, the recording travels to the land.

Homestead here, in one paragraph

Michigan exempts a homestead from execution, and the statutory dollar figure is small.

Property listed in MCL 600.6023(1)⁵ is exempt from levy and sale under an execution, and the homestead is item (g) on that list. That homestead is a dwelling house and appurtenances on not more than 40 acres outside a recorded plat, city, or village, or at the owner's option not more than 1 lot inside one, owned and occupied by a resident of the state. Its value named in the statute is $3,500.00, under MCL 600.6023(1)(g).

Holes are written into the same section. MCL 600.6023(1)(g) says the exemption does not apply to a mortgage on the homestead that is lawfully obtained. And MCL 600.6023(2) says the exemptions do not extend to any lien on the exempt property that is excluded from exemption by law. How this exemption compares elsewhere is covered in homestead protection, state by state.

Where the records live

One office does the recording, another court does the certifying.

Two offices matter in Michigan, and they are not the same one. Recording that creates the lien lives with the register of deeds for the county where the property sits, under MCL 600.2803. Certification of the notice and the proof of service belong to the court that entered the judgment, under MCL 600.2805. Attachment dates from the recording, or from acquisition for after-acquired property, so the register's stamp is the date to ask about. For the same question in other states, see how a judgment becomes a lien.