Opinion ID: 1987059
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Iowa Law on Judgment Liens and the Homestead Exemption

Text: PCHS contends the judgment lien never attached to the property in question because Rose's homestead interest in the property prevented attachment. We begin by reviewing relevant statutes and our prior cases involving the issue of judgment liens attaching to homestead property. Iowa Code section 624.23(1) addresses the attachment of judgment liens to the debtor's real property. It provides as follows: Judgments in the appellate or district courts of this state, or in the circuit or district court of the United States within the state, are liens upon the real estate owned by the defendant at the time of such rendition, and also upon all the defendant may subsequently acquire, for the period of ten years from the date of the judgment. The homestead exemption is found in Iowa Code section 561.16 and declares: The homestead of every person is exempt from judicial sale where there is no special declaration of statute to the contrary. In one of our early cases, we construed the predecessors to sections 624.23(1) and 561.16 and concluded that the general terms of section 624.23(1) regarding judgment liens are limited by the exemption provided in section 561.16. See Lamb v. Shays, 14 Iowa 567, 570 (1863) (Construing the two sections together, having been passed at the same time by the Legislature, we think that it could not have been designed that the lien should ever attach upon property that was declared exempt from judicial sale. ); see also Brown v. Vonnahme, 343 N.W.2d 445, 449-50 (Iowa 1984) (relying on Lamb in construing sections 624.23 and 561.16). Therefore, a judgment lien generally cannot attach to land used and occupied as a homestead and land designated as a homestead generally cannot be executed upon to enforce a judgment lien. However, there are exceptions to the general homestead exemption. See Iowa Code § 561.16 (1995) (The homestead of every person is exempt from judicial sale where there is no special declaration of statute to the contrary. ) (emphasis added). Section 561.21 sets forth several types of debts for which homestead property is liable. The section provides: The homestead may be sold to satisfy debts of each of the following classes: 1. Those contracted prior to its acquisition, but then only to satisfy a deficiency remaining after exhausting the other property of the debtor, liable to execution. 2. Those created by written contract by persons having the power to convey, expressly stipulating that it shall be liable, but then only for deficiency remaining after exhausting all other property pledged by the same contract for the payment of the debt. 3. Those incurred for work done or material furnished exclusively for the improvement of the homestead. 4. If there is no survivor or issue, for the payment of any debts to which it might at that time be subjected if it had never been held as a homestead. We have previously held that a child support judgment entered prior to the acquisition of the homestead is a debt within the meaning of section 561.21(1), which enables a court to subject the homestead to judicial sale to satisfy delinquent installments, absent other available property upon which to levy. In re Marriage of McMorrow, 342 N.W.2d 73, 76 (Iowa 1983); see also In re Marriage of Armetta, 417 N.W.2d 223, 224 (Iowa App. 1987) (extending holding in McMorrow by finding that obligation to support child is created at child's birth and acquisition of homestead after that time renders the property liable for payment of past due child support). In both McMorrow and Armetta, however, the homestead property at issue was owned solely by the delinquent spouse, not jointly by the delinquent spouse and a current spouse, as in the case at bar. This factual twist presents a scenario that we have never explicitly addressed. We must consider the effect of the current wife's homestead rights on a judgment for child support against her husband, with whom she jointly owns the homestead. The court of appeals considered a similar issue in Adamson v. Rice, 478 N.W.2d 414 (Iowa App.1991). In Adamson, the district court found that an ex-husband was delinquent in his child support obligation to his ex-wife. In an attempt to satisfy the judgment for outstanding child support, the ex-wife directed the sheriff to sell through general execution all of the ex-husband's right in a lot owned jointly by him and his current wife. The sheriff's sale was held and the ex-wife purchased the property. The ex-husband and current wife then filed for a temporary and permanent injunction to stop the sale and levy. The district court found that the current wife's interest in the property was subordinate to the ex-wife's right to child support and that the sale was proper. The current wife appealed. Adamson, 478 N.W.2d at 415. The court of appeals noted in its decision that [t]he public policy underlying child support recovery laws rises higher than our policy to guard homestead rights. Id. (citing McMorrow, 342 N.W.2d at 76; Armetta, 417 N.W.2d at 224). However, the court, applying fundamental legal principles, concluded that because the current wife was not made a party to the execution judgment and received no notice of the sale of the homestead which she jointly owned, the execution was not valid against her. Id. The court of appeals found that the district court erred in denying the injunction because no adjudication of the current wife's rights in the property had occurred and the ex-husband's homestead rights, which were subject to execution pursuant to McMorrow, could not be split from the rights of the current wife. Id. at 416. Essentially, the fact that the current wife's homestead interest was not subject to execution prevented execution on the ex-husband's homestead interest. Id.