No law requires that liens be removed before title to property is sold or transferred. But if the buyer needs financing or wants clear title, the lien will have to be cleared up. In the real world, this means that judgment liens tend to get paid off sooner or later.

But if property is transferred without the lien being paid off, it simply remains on the property and the new owner of the property has to deal with it. This means that in transfers between relatives, the new owner may take title to the property, liens and all.