Fill and Sign the Uslegal Pamphlet on Homestead Filing Form

© 2016 - U.S. Legal Forms, Inc USLegal Pamphlet on Homestead Filing I NTRODUCTION The original homestead law in the United States was one of several United States federal laws that gave an applicant freehold title up to 160 acres (1/4 section) of undeveloped land outside of the original 13 colonies. The new law required three steps: file an application, improve the land, and file for deed of title. Anyone who had never taken up arms against the U.S. Government, including freed slaves, could file an application and improvements to a local land office. Homestead law allows an individual to register a portion of his real and personal property as “homestead,” thereby making that portion of the individual’s estate off-limits to most creditors. The idea behind these homestead laws is the preservation of the family farm, home, or other assets in the face of severe economic conditions. Homestead laws are designed to protect small individual property owners, such as homeowners, from the everchanging economic climate of the United States. Often when the economy changes, small property owners are unable to meet the demands of their creditors. The idea behind these homestead laws is the preservation of the family farm, home, or other assets in the face of severe economic conditions. Homestead laws are primarily governed by state laws, which vary by state. They may deal with such matters as the ability of creditors to attach a person's home, the amount of real estate taxes owed on the home, or the ability of the homeowner to mortgage or devise the home under a will, among other issues. For example, in one state, when you record a Declaration of Homestead, the equity in your home is protected up to a statutory amount. In another state, there is no statutory limit. This protection precludes seizure or forced sale of your residence by general creditor claims (unpaid medical bills, bankruptcy, charge card debts, business & personal loans, accidents, etc.). State laws often provide a homestead exemption for older citizens so that a certain dollar amount of the home's value is exempt from real estate taxes. Other laws may provide rules for a person's ability to mortgage or devise the homestead. The items and amounts of money that can be set aside as a homestead are varied. The rules governing which property can be registered as homestead property seem to adhere to regional patterns. Real property that may be subject to the homestead exemptions vary in value from a $300 exemption from judgments in Pennsylvania to a $200,000 exemption for persons over age sixty- two in Massachusetts. They vary in character from the District of Columbia’s allowable homestead of $200 worth of tools, and, if a professional, $300 worth of furniture, and $300 in clothes per person, to Colorado’s unlimited acreage or Texas’s 200 acres. In each case, the property that may be homesteaded is designed to perpetuate the family’s estate and improve its chances for survival in hard times. Local laws should be consulted for requirements in your area. Homestead laws were generally designed to protect the home from creditors, provide the right of occupancy given to a surviving spouse, minor children, and unmarried children of a deceased owner and also afford reduced property tax treatment. When people use the term "homestead exemption" they may be referring to the tax exemption or reduction, or the exemption from debts or execution for the payment of debts. The exemption from using the homestead to pay certain debts doesn't mean that you can't lose your home to creditors or that a lien cannot be placed on the home. If you borrow money on your home like most people do, the mortgage holder can foreclose despite the exemption. If an unsecured creditor sues you and obtains a judgment, the creditor can file the judgment as a lien on your property. However, to the extent that you have a homestead exemption, the creditor cannot execute on the homestead and take the home. Specific homestead laws vary by state. In Texas, for example, a homestead is not protected from debts owed to the federal government. Some states require a recorded claim to be filed in order to claim a homestead exemption, while other states require a designation of homestead. Almost all states require a designation in order to receive a homestead tax exemption. In community property states, generally, either separate or community property may constitute a homestead, and a homestead owner's spouse must join in any transfer or encumbrance of a homestead. In almost all states, a surviving spouse is entitled to the sole occupancy of a homestead for life, even though the property may be owned by someone else, such as were the property is titled in the husband's name, he dies and leaves the property to his children. Homestead exemption forms are usually available from the tax assessor in your county. If not, the tax assessor can provide you with the proper location. H OMESTEAD W AIVERS A homestead waiver is a document wherein the homeowner of spouse of a homeowner gives up the statutory homestead rights under applicable state law, often required in certain contracts, such as mortgages. A bank often includes a homestead waiver in a mortgage so that they can recoup their losses up to the full loan amount in case of foreclosure, rather than having part of the property exempt from the claims of creditors under a homestead exemption. The following is an example of a provision in a homeowner's association agreement dealing with homestead waivers: Each Owner hereby agrees that the Association's lien on a Lot for assessments shall be superior to the homestead exemption provided by Colorado law as amended from time to time and each Owner hereby agrees that the acceptance of the deed conveying the Owner's Lot within the Property to him shall signify the Owner's waiver of the homestead right granted by said Colorado law.