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 Rhode Island, the homestead exemption is designed to protect a portion of a person's primary residence from being seized and sold to satisfy certain types of debts. Under Rhode Island General Laws § 9-26-4.1, an individual is entitled to a homestead exemption of up to $500,000 of the value of their home. This means that equity in a home up to that amount is protected from unsecured creditors in the event of bankruptcy or other financial judgments. The homestead exemption in Rhode Island applies automatically; no specific declaration or filing is required to claim it. However, the exemption does not protect against secured claims, such as mortgage foreclosures, or certain other types of debts, including tax liens and domestic support obligations. The exemption is intended to provide a secure home for the family, and it is interpreted broadly to fulfill this purpose. If a homestead is abandoned, which means the owner no longer uses the property as a primary residence and does not intend to return, the exemption can be lost. The burden of proving abandonment lies with the party asserting it.