S-0978.1                   _______________________________________________

                                                     SENATE BILL 5924

                              _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              53rd Legislature                             1993 Regular Session

By Senator Winsley

Read first time 02/25/93.  Referred to Committee on Law & Justice.

Allowing renewal of judgments.

          AN ACT Relating to the renewal of judgments; amending RCW 4.56.210; and reenacting and amending RCW 4.56.190.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

        Sec. 1.  RCW 4.56.190 and 1987 c 442 s 1103 and 1987 c 202 s 116 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

          The real estate of any judgment debtor, and such as the judgment debtor may acquire, not exempt by law, shall be held and bound to satisfy any judgment of the district court of the United States rendered in this state and any judgment of the supreme court, court of appeals, superior court, ((or)) district court of this state, or renewed under RCW 4.56.210(3), and every such judgment shall be a lien thereupon to commence as provided in RCW 4.56.200 and to run for a period of not to exceed ten years from the day on which such judgment was entered.  As used in this chapter, real estate shall not include the vendor's interest under a real estate contract for judgments rendered after August 23, 1983.  If a judgment debtor owns real estate, subject to execution, jointly or in common with any other person, the judgment shall be a lien on the interest of the defendant only.

          Personal property of the judgment debtor shall be held only from the time it is actually levied upon.

        Sec. 2.  RCW 4.56.210 and 1989 c 360 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

          (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, after the expiration of ten years from the date of the entry of any judgment heretofore or hereafter rendered in this state, it shall cease to be a lien or charge against the estate or person of the judgment debtor.  No suit, action or other proceeding shall ever be had on any judgment rendered in this state by which the lien shall be extended or continued in force for any greater or longer period than ten years.

          (2) An underlying judgment or judgment lien entered after ((the effective date of this act)) July 23, 1989, for accrued child support shall continue in force for ten years after the eighteenth birthday of the youngest child named in the order for whom support is ordered.  All judgments entered after ((the effective date of this act)) July 23, 1989, shall contain the birth date of the youngest child for whom support is ordered.

(3) Before the expiration of a ten-year period under subsection (1) or (2) of this section, the court in which the judgment originally was entered, on motion, may renew the judgment and cause a new entry and docketing of the judgment to be made.  The renewed judgment and a lien of judgment under the renewed judgment expire ten years after the entry of the renewed judgment.  If a judgment is renewed under this subsection, the judgment creditor or the judgment creditor's agent may cause to be recorded in the lien record of a county in which the real estate of the judgment debtor is situated a certified copy of the renewed judgment.  Execution may issue upon the renewed judgment until the renewed judgment expires or is fully satisfied.

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