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 South Dakota, the homestead exemption is designed to protect a portion of a person's home and adjoining land from forced sale by creditors, ensuring that individuals have a secure place to live despite financial difficulties. South Dakota Codified Laws (SDCL) provide that a homestead to the extent of one acre within the limits of a town or city, or 160 acres elsewhere, to the value of $60,000, is exempt from attachment, judgment, and execution. This means that up to $60,000 of the value of a person's home cannot be used to satisfy most types of debts. The exemption applies to the head of the family, or if there is no head, to any family member. The homestead exemption in South Dakota is automatically applied; no specific action or documentation is required to claim it, other than demonstrating the intent and actual use of the property as a primary residence. The exemption extends to the entire family and not just to one spouse. However, the exemption can be lost if the property is abandoned, which means the owner must cease to use the property as a primary residence and have no intention to return. The burden of proving abandonment lies with the party asserting it.