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 Massachusetts, the homestead exemption is a legal provision that protects a homeowner's primary residence from being sold to satisfy most types of debts. This exemption is codified in the Massachusetts Homestead Act (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 188). The Act allows for an automatic homestead protection of up to $125,000 in home equity, which can be increased to $500,000 with a written declaration filed with the Registry of Deeds. The homestead exemption in Massachusetts applies to the owner's equity in the home and is intended to provide a secure place of residence for the homeowner and their family. It is important to note that the exemption does not protect against all types of debts; for example, it does not prevent foreclosure by a mortgage lender. The exemption is available to every homeowner who occupies or intends to occupy the home as a primary residence. In the case of married couples, the homestead exemption protects the property as long as either spouse has the intention and uses the property as their primary residence. The exemption remains in effect until the property is no longer used as a homestead due to abandonment, sale, or death of the owner. The burden of proving abandonment of a homestead rests on the party asserting it.