A homestead or homestead estate generally includes a house, outbuildings, and the adjoining land owned and occupied by a person or family as a primary residence.
Many states—but not all—have laws that protect a person’s homestead from forced sale for the satisfaction (payment) of debts—at least up to a certain amount of the homestead’s value. These laws may be referred to as homestead exemptions or homestead laws and may be located in a state’s constitution or in its statutes.
The homestead exemption exists to provide a secure home for the family against creditors. The exemption is liberally construed to further its purposes. No specific writing is needed to claim a homestead exemption, but instead merely proof of concurrent usage and intent on the part of the owner to claim the land as a homestead.
In some states the constitutional family homestead exemption applies to the entire family, and not to either spouse individually. Therefore, so long as real property is a family homestead due to one spouse's intention and use, that property is protected by the homestead exemption, unless full abandonment has been pleaded and proved. Once a property has been established as a homestead, the property remains exempt unless it ceases to be a homestead due to abandonment, alienation, or death.
Abandonment of a homestead occurs when the homestead claimant ceases to use the property and intends not to use it as a home again. Anyone asserting abandonment of a homestead has the burden of proving it by competent evidence.
In Texas, the homestead exemption is a legal provision that protects a homeowner's primary residence from forced sale by creditors, except for debts related to property taxes, purchase money liens, home improvement loans, or other specific types of debts. The Texas Constitution (Article XVI, Section 50) and Property Code (Section 41.001) provide for one of the most generous homestead exemptions in the United States. For urban homes, the exemption extends to 10 acres of land and any improvements thereon, while for rural homesteads, it covers up to 100 acres for a single adult and 200 acres for a family, including improvements. The exemption applies to both spouses jointly, protecting the family homestead as long as one spouse has the intention and uses the property as a primary residence. There is no need for a written claim to establish a homestead; it is based on usage and intent. A homestead remains exempt from forced sale unless there is proof of abandonment, alienation, or death of the owner. Abandonment requires clear evidence that the homeowner has ceased to use the property as a primary residence and does not intend to return.
