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 Arizona, the homestead exemption is designed to protect a portion of a person's home equity from being seized to satisfy certain types of creditors' claims. Under Arizona law, an individual can protect up to $150,000 of their home's equity. This exemption applies to a house, mobile home, condo, or townhouse that the debtor occupies as their primary residence. The homestead exemption in Arizona is automatic; no specific filing is required to claim the exemption, as long as the property is the person's primary residence. However, the exemption does not protect against all types of debts; for example, it does not prevent foreclosure by a mortgage lender. The exemption is intended to provide a secure home for the family, and it is liberally construed to further its purposes. If a homestead is abandoned, which means the homeowner 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. It's important to note that while the homestead exemption protects a certain amount of equity, it does not make the property entirely immune from forced sale; it merely limits the amount that can be taken to satisfy a judgment.