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 Maryland, the homestead exemption is a legal provision designed to protect a portion of a homeowner's primary residence from creditors in the event of bankruptcy or other financial distress. As of the knowledge cutoff in 2023, Maryland law allows homeowners to exempt up to $25,150 in equity of their primary residence under the federal bankruptcy exemptions, which Maryland has chosen to adopt. This means that if a homeowner files for bankruptcy, they can protect up to this amount from being used to pay off unsecured creditors. It's important to note that this exemption applies to the equity in the home, not the home's total value. Maryland does not have a separate state homestead exemption outside of bankruptcy. The homestead exemption is automatically applied upon filing for bankruptcy, and no specific writing is required to claim it. However, the homeowner must prove that the property in question is their primary residence and that they intend to use it as such. If a homeowner abandons the property, they may lose the homestead exemption, and the burden of proof for abandonment lies with the party asserting it.