Immunity From Forced Sale
Different jurisdictions provide different degrees of protection under homestead exemption laws. Some only protect property up to a certain value, while others are limited by acreage limitations. If homesteads exceeds these limits creditors may still force the sale while the homesteader may keep a certain amount of the proceeds of the sale.
California - Protects up to $75,000 for single people, $100,000 for married couples, and $175,000 for people over 65 or legally disabled.
Texas, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, and Oklahoma have some of the broadest homestead protections in the U.S., in terms of the value of property that can be protected.
Texas's homestead exemption has no dollar value limit and has a 10 acres (4.0 hectares) exemption limit for homesteads inside of a municipality (urban homestead) and 100 acres (40 hectares) for those outside of a municipality (rural homestead). The rural acre allotment is doubled for a family: 200 acres (81 hectares) can be shielded from creditors in Texas for a rural homestead.
Both the Kansas and Oklahoma exemptions protect 160 acres (65 hectares) of land of any value outside of a municipality's corporate limits and 1 acre (0.40 hectares) of land of any value within a municipality's corporate limits. Most homestead exemptions cover the land including fixtures and improvements to it, such as buildings, timber, and landscaping.
New Mexico has a $60,000 exemption. Alaska has a $54,000 exemption.
Colorado has a $60,000 exemption, or $90,000 if you are over age 60 or disabled.
In the majority of states, the real dollar value of "protection" provided by these laws has diminished as exemption dollar amounts are seldom adjusted for inflation. The protective intent of such laws, with some notable exceptions stated above, has been eroded in most states.
Read more about this topic: Homestead Exemption
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