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 Louisiana, the homestead exemption is a legal provision that protects a portion of a homeowner's primary residence from creditors. The Louisiana Constitution provides for a homestead exemption that protects up to $25,000 of the value of the individual's primary residence. This means that, in the event of a forced sale to satisfy debts, the first $25,000 in value of the home cannot be taken by creditors. The exemption applies to the house, outbuildings, and adjoining land that the individual owns and occupies as their primary residence. It is designed to secure a place of residence for the family against claims by creditors. In Louisiana, the homestead exemption is automatically applied; no specific action or documentation is required to claim it, other than proving the property is the owner's primary residence and there is an intent to use it as such. The exemption remains in effect as long as the property is the owner's homestead and has not been abandoned, alienated, or the owner has not died. Abandonment of the homestead would require evidence that the homeowner has ceased to use the property as a primary residence and does not intend to return.