Q: How do I get relief from Judgments that that bankruptcy attorney failed to include in chapter 7 bankruptcy?

A: A: You should contact your attorney and have him reopen the case. It will require an Adversary Action, which if you provided the info to him, he should do for free.

A: If the judgment was recorded by the creditor in the county where you own real estate, prior to your filing your bankruptcy case, the judgment has to be avoided ("removed from the property") via an Order issued by the bankruptcy court. The Order cannot be issued unless documents are filed while the case is open and being administered. It varies from district to district, but it is possible to ask the Court to reopen a bankruptcy case for the purpose of filing an application to avoid judgment lien. The grounds have to be that the judgment lien impairs an exemption taken in your property. Judgment Liens are not affected by a bankruptcy Discharge Order. They stay attached to your real estate unless avoided by a bankruptcy court order under 11 U.S. Code, Section 522. You can receive a discharge for the personal liability for the debt, but still have a judgment on your property after the bankruptcy case is closed. If the Court in its discretion denies the application to reopen the case to avoid a judgment lien, then unfortunately you are stuck with it, and you only have 1 year from the date of discovery of the attorney's malpractice (if in fact, it was malpractice) to file a lawsuit against him or her. In my experience, these instances arise when the judgment may have been in the client's pre-marital name, and the attorney was not made aware of the prior name.