In law, lien is the broadest term for any sort of charge or encumbrance against an item of property that secures the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation. Liens can be consensual or non-consensual. Consensual liens are imposed by a contract between the creditor and the debtor. These liens include:
Non-consensual liens typically arise by statute or by the operation of the common law. These liens give a creditor the right to impose a lien on an item of real property or a chattel by the existence of the relationship of creditor and debtor. These liens include:
- tax liens, imposed to secure payment of a tax;
- attorney's liens, against funds and documents to secure payment of fees;
- mechanic's liens, which secure payment for work done on property or land;
- judgment liens, imposed to secure payment of a judgment
- maritime liens, imposed on shipA ship like a boat, is a vehicle designed for passage or transportation by water. A ship usually has sufficient size to carry its own boats, such as lifeboats, dinghies, or runabouts. A rule of thumb saying (though it doesn't always apply) goes: "a boat cs by admiralty lawAdmiralty law (usually referred to as simply admiralty and also referred to as maritime law is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses. Under conventions of international law, the flag flown by a ship generally determines the.
Liens are also "perfected" or "unperfected." Perfected liens are those liens for which a creditor has taken the steps required by law to give third parties notice of his interest in the property in which a lien is claimed. The fact that an item of property is in the hands of the creditor usually constitutes perfection. Where the property remains in the hands of the debtor, some further step must be taken, like recording a notice of the security interest with the appropriate office.
Perfecting a lien is an important part of the task of protecting the secured creditor's interest in the property. A perfected lien is valid, even against a trusteeThe word trustee is a legal term that refers to a member of a trust, which can be set up for any of a variety of purposes, and is entrusted with the administration of property on behalf of others. In the case of charities in the UK, a trustee is an unpaid in bankruptcyBankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organisation to pay their creditors. A declared state of bankruptcy can be requested or initiated by the bankrupt individual or organisation, or it can be requested by; an unperfected lien is not.
Property lawProperty law is the law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land as distinct from personal or moveable possessions) and in personal property, within the common law legal system. In the civil law system, there is a division betwee
legal terms
