One of the most important parts of the title search is determining if there are any unsatisfied judgments or liens against the owner or previous owners which were in existence while they held the title.  A judgment can be a general lien against the debtor's real estate and may constitute security for any money owed under the judgment.  The real estate can be sold to satisfy the judgment.

It is extremely important to be sure that a title is not subject to judgments against the current owner or previous owners.  Title insurance provides this protection.

A judgment against a person named Smith may or may not affect the title of an owner named Smith, depending on whether or not they are the same person.  So all possible variations of the same name must be examined.

For example, the name Smith might be spelled Scmid, Schmidt, Schmidtt, Schmitdz, Schmied, Schmiedt, Smid, Smythe, and so on.  The name Nichols can be spelled 73 different ways.  The task is to determine which of these spellings applied to the owner in question.

Rights established by judgment decrees, unpaid federal income taxes and mechanic's liens all may be prior claims on the property, ahead of the buyer's or lender's rights.

If a judgment is discovered that constitutes a defect in title, then the owner must eliminate it before the title policy can be insured free and clear of that judgment.