If my husband has a judgement against him for default on auto loans, can they put a lien on our house if we bought it before we were married?

When someone's name is on real estate, all a judgment creditor has to do is record a copy of the judgment at the county recorders office to make it a lien. Before you rush to the recorders office to take your husband's name off of the lien, look at the "Fraudulent Transfers Act" which explains why trying to solve this problem in this manner will just create more problems than it solves.

Probably not. The timing of the when the debt was incurred and when the home was purchased have to be carefully reviewed to give a final answer.

Usually creditors will attempt garnishments and other means of collection before they will put a lien on your home. Judgment creditors can try to seize other types of property (like vehicles) to satisfy a judgment. The bottom line is that judgment creditors can and do put judgment liens on real estate. A bankruptcy would stop this from happening. Depending on the amount and other factors, most judgment liens can be set aside in a bankruptcy case.

The lien would be against your husband individually, however, it will appear if you want to sell or refinance your jointly owned property.

Yes. Usually the creditor will record an abstract judgment in the county, which attached to any and all property owned by the debtor in that county.

The rights of judgment creditors vary from state to state. In California, as long as your husband is on title to the property, the judgment creditor can have a judgment lien placed on your husband's interest in property. If you sell the property or get a loan secured in whole or part by your husband's interest in the property, the judgment creditor will have to be paid. A judgment creditor can levy or execute on the lien to force the sale of your husband's interest, but this is seldom done because it's time consuming, expensive and the sale may not result in any funds going to the creditor (who wants to buy a half-interest). Most creditors wait until the owners sell or refinance. Money judgement can be enforced only for a period of 10 years. The judgment creditor can have the judgment renewed for additional 10 year periods, but some forget and lose their liens on the property. Under certain circumstances, a judgment lien on a debtor co-owner may be extinguished on the death of that co-owner. If the title to the property was taken in "joint tenancy" before the judgment lien was obtained, should the judgment debtor die before the other joint tenant and the creditor has not yet executed or levied on the lien, the lien is extinguished and the surviving joint tenant receives the property free of the lien. So if you and your husband own the property as joint tenants and he dies first, you will own the entire property without the lien. If you die first, now he owns the whole property subject to the lien. This, though, does not apply if you and your husband own the property as tenants in common, his half will remain subject to the lien even after his death. If the judgment is not going to be paid off immediately, I would recommend that you review your situation with an experienced estate planning attorney. You may want to consider what would happen in the event you die before the debt is paid off. You may not want your half-interest going outright to him as it would be subject to his debt. Maybe you have children or other beneficiaries whom you want to receive at least your half of the property. There are ways to protect your half for those beneficiaries that would still allow your husband to use the residence for life.