Expert: Mark J. Markus- California Bankruptcy Attorney - 7/3/2007

Question
About 2 years ago while living in my Florida home I declared bankruptcy and had my unsecured debt discharged.  I am now in Washington State and trying to refinance my home in Florida and was told by the lender that the title company said the creditors had judgements and I had to pay them off before I got any money on the refinance.  Is this true since my bankruptcy paperwork says that those debts were discharged?

Answer
If they have liens recorded against your property, and those liens were recorded prior to your bankruptcy case being filed, then yes, that is true, unless you filed a motion to avoid the liens in your bankruptcy case.  You may still be able to reopen your case and avoid the liens, but you'd need to discuss that with a Florida bankruptcy attorney as it depends in part on Florida exemption law.