The interest of an innocent party in the property shall not be subject to forfeiture. An “innocent party” is one who did not have actual knowledge that the property was used or intended for use in the course of, derived from or realized through a criminal activity. Any innocent party shall have a right or claim to forfeited property or to the proceeds derived therefrom superior to any right or claim the state or the county has in the same property or proceeds. To enforce such a claim, the innocent party must intervene in the forfeiture proceeding prior to its final disposition; except that, with respect to any property for which the state maintains records of ownership, if the certificate of title, the official records or other evidence of ownership indicates the existence of a lien on the seized property or the ownership of the property by someone other than the defendant, the named lienholder or owner shall be a necessary party to the action commenced under this section unless the party has by affidavit released the lien. The lienholder or owner shall have no obligation to intervene to protect his rights, but the court shall determine the validity of the lien.