Bear with me! avoiding lien question

[ColoradoBell]

So my X is up to no good again, but this time I kinda think it might help me.

Despite being divorced for over 7 years, he still owns part of the house I built back in the 80's that I live in. He's made living here hell because he won't let me make repairs and he 's always trying to get the friendly court to hassle me. H e won't let me buy out his share unless I pay him 100 % of the value of the property that he owns 40% of. Sigh.

Anyway, he put a 35k judgment lien on the house a while back for his attorney fees. The amount of judmgent liens impaired my homestead, so I was going to get it avoided anyway.

So today I look at the title committment and he's added another $100,000 of judmgent liens (trust that I haven't done anything except when he takes me to court to reduce the amount of our assets that he owes me, he alwasys wins and the judge gives himm his attonrey fees. Did I mention that the judge is 'in his pocket'?

The debt used to be unsecured debt offset by what he owed me, but I think his filing these liens is maybe better becasue you can avoid liens that are preferential (and these qualify) plus I can avoid them as infringing on my homestead.

SO...the question I have for ya'll is this:
1. What happens to avoided judgment liens in a Ch 7? Do they just go away forever?

2. I know that in a 13, they become unsecured...........

3. But what if you file a 7, get the judgment liens GONE and then convert to a 13? Do the judgemnt liens come back as unsecured debt?

If they didn't come back , that might mean I could keep my house, so its a pretty important question.

[justbroke]

If you avoid a lien in a Chapter 7... it is gone upon discharge. You should probably make sure the Order granting the lien avoidance... should be in "recordable" format, so you can file it with the local recorder.

If you avoid a lien in a Chapter 13, it usually requires that you receive a discharge (just like a Chapter 7).

If you file a Chapter 20... a Chapter 7 followed by a Chapter 13, anything discharged in the Chapter 7 is done... discharged... avoided. The Chapter 13 would deal, most likely, with tax debts or any "arrears" that you're trying to cure on secured property. All debt should've been discharged in the Chapter 7.

[ColoradoBell]

Thanks justbroke...you always have the answers (you and HHM need to go into business!)

So in my case, if I filed for a 7, could I get these judgment liens avoided AND discharged and then CONVERT to a 13 or if they are discharged would I have to wait before fililng a 13?

I'd be walking a fine line in a 7: getting the sale of the house stayed. Avoiding liens that impair homestead. The trustee either tries to sell my house at more money or abandons it.....Before either happens, can I convert to a 13 if I'd like to save the house? So the next question would be...is there an option to first get the debts discharged and then convert or would I have to finish up the 7 completely and then file a whole new 13 (and wouldn't I have to wait some years to do that? )

The tightrope I walk is this: The house is being sold at an artificiially low price...but because the receiver and realtor ran around telling everyone that the house was a scrape off and damaged beyond repair etc, the perceptional price IS the market value. If I can get the house away from X and the court....then I can repair both the house and its reputation and end up making a nice profit when it eventually sells. The way I see it, the trustee probably can't do that, because of the perceptions that the house can be had for a low ball price. Plus the trustee isn't going to put any money into it. In a 7 there is the danger that the trustee will take the house and sell it to someone else for a bit more. In a 13, the danger is that the trustee will say the house is worth more than the contract on the house. But I want to buy out X's share based on that low contract price that he set up (I'm not using my money to buyit, but my sister's and then she will get half interest in the property.) I have to come up with enough money to fund my plan in a `13 and if I didn't have much unsecured debt, it would be a lot easier to do. (my mortgage would be less than rent)
Sorry to be so long...its just that its an unusual sitch and I confuse myself by overthinking things.

[justbroke]

So in my case, if I filed for a 7, could I get these judgment liens avoided AND discharged and then CONVERT to a 13 or if they are discharged would I start all over again after a certain period of time?

Keep it simple. Avoid the lien AND receive a discharge in any Chapter of Bankruptcy... you are done. Once your Chapter 7 case is discharged, you can actually file a Chapter 13 immediately. You don't receive any discharge in that immediately filed Chapter 13.

The biggest problem you'll have is actually avoiding the liens. I'm sure that you will have "opposition", so the drama will just play out some more.