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Gives a creditor the legal right to keep a home or property when the owner fails to pay a debt. A judgment lien can only be granted by a court when a creditor takes a debtor to court for failing to pay a debt and the debtor loses. A student (or parent in the case of a parent borrower) will not qualify for federal student aid if he or she owns property that is subject to a judgment lien for a debt owed to the United States.