A judicial lien is an involuntary lien obtained by a creditor and is a secured debt owed by the debtor.  A creditor obtains this as a result of filing a final judgment issued against a debtor through a lawsuit filed in state court.  A certified copy of a final judgment may be filed in the county in which the debtor owns real property.

There is a motion a bankruptcy debtor can file to wipe out the appearance of the judicial lien.  It is known as a Motion to Avoid Judicial Lien. A Motion to Avoid Judicial Lien can be filed by a debtor in either a chapter 7 or chapter 13 bankruptcy proceeding.  In a Chapter 7 proceeding, an Order Avoiding Judicial Lien will remove the debt totally.  The order may be recorded in the official records of the county in which the judgment is located.