Hawaii Real Estate State Practice Exam

For a judgment lien to be removed in Hawaii, the debt must be paid. When a lien is placed on a property due to an unpaid judgment, it acts as a claim against the property that secures the payment of that judgment. Once the debtor fulfills their obligation by paying off the debt, they can seek to have the judgment lien released.

Paying the debt leads to the issuance of a satisfaction of judgment, which documents that the obligation has been met. This satisfaction must then be recorded to formally release the lien from the property records. Without payment of the debt, the lien remains in effect and could potentially hinder the sale or refinancing of the property, as it represents an outstanding financial obligation on the part of the property owner.

This context helps to clarify why simply filing a satisfaction or having the property sold does not inherently remove the judgment lien unless the underlying debt has been settled. An unrecorded lien is not a valid mechanism for establishing or removing legal claims against a property, making it another non-viable option in this scenario.