The Arizona Supreme Court Confirms that Judgment Liens Attach to Homestead Property

By: Ben Reeves

The Arizona Supreme Court recently clarified that a judgment lien does, in fact, attach to the proceeds of the sale of a homestead property. See In re McLauchlan. In sum, if the sale of a home produces more than the homestead exemption amount, then a judgment creditor can collect from those excess sale proceeds.

A few prior decisions held that a judgment could NOT recover any proceeds from the sale or foreclosure of a homestead property. See In re Rand, and Pac. W. Bank v. Castleton. These decisions are now effectively overruled.