http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Secured-Transactions/index.html LawInfo - Legal Resource Center offers free legal forms and free legal documents that is designed to help consumers and businesses resolve their legal issues http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Secured-Transactions/Federal/what-is-a-secured-transaction.html A secured transaction is when a creditor is given a right to or lien on the debtor's property to guarantee payment of the debt. A security interest arises when in exchange for a loan a borrower agrees, in a security agreement, that the lender (the secured party) may take specified collateral owned by the borrower if he or she should default on the loan. A secured creditor has priority over an unsecured creditor in debt collection efforts against the property securing the debt. A security interest also provides the secured party with the assurance that if the debtor should go bankrupt he or she may be able to recover the value of the loan by taking possession of the specified collateral instead of receiving only a portion of the borrowers property after it is divided among all creditors. A secured creditor can increase its rights against other creditors by perfecting its interest. This is accomplished by the public filing of a document identifying the creditor, debtor and secured property. Secured Transactions FAQs Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Secured-Transactions/Federal/what-is-a-lien-.html Some creditors have special rights to collect debts in the form of liens. Liens may come up in various ways including judgment liens obtained as a result of court proceedings. Creditors commonly seek to create a lien on a debtor's property through a judicial process of lien creation, which is governed by state law. Once a lien has been created state law governs how the lien is executed against the debtor's property. A debtor may provide a creditor with a lien on personal property in order to obtain a loan form the creditor, such as a car loan. When taxes are not paid, the government will have a lien. A mechanic who works on real property will have a mechanics lien whereby the mechanic may retain the property until payment is made for the work. The lien may give the creditor priority over other creditors attempting to collect from the same debtor. A lien on property may give the creditor the right to foreclose by selling the debtor's property to pay off the debt. Secured Transactions FAQs Mon, 16 Jun 2008 22:42:22 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Chex-Systems/index.html Free Chex Systems FAQs Collections-Creditors Rights Sub-categories Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:58:16 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Collections/index.html Free Collections FAQs Collections-Creditors Rights Sub-categories Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:58:16 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Creditor-Remedies-in-Bankruptcy/index.html Free Creditor Remedies in Bankruptcy FAQs Collections-Creditors Rights Sub-categories Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:58:16 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Debt-Collections/index.html Free Debt Collections FAQs Collections-Creditors Rights Sub-categories Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:58:16 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Enforcement-of-Judgments/index.html Free Enforcement of Judgments FAQs Collections-Creditors Rights Sub-categories Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:58:16 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Fair-Credit-Reporting-Act/index.html Free Fair Credit Reporting Act FAQs Collections-Creditors Rights Sub-categories Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:58:16 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Fair-Debt-Collection-Practices-Act/index.html Free Fair Debt Collection Practices Act FAQs Collections-Creditors Rights Sub-categories Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:58:16 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Identity-Theft-Fraud/index.html Free Identity Theft FAQs Collections-Creditors Rights Sub-categories Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:58:16 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Judicial-Remedies/index.html Free Judicial Remedies FAQs Collections-Creditors Rights Sub-categories Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:58:16 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Mortgage-Foreclosure/index.html Free Mortgage Foreclosure FAQs Collections-Creditors Rights Sub-categories Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:58:16 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Non-Judicial-Remedies/index.html Free Non-Judicial Remedies FAQs Collections-Creditors Rights Sub-categories Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:58:16 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Types-of-Creditors/index.html Free Types of Creditors FAQs Collections-Creditors Rights Sub-categories Sat, 28 Nov 2009 11:58:16 GMT