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 Florida, the homestead exemption is a powerful legal provision that offers significant protection for a person's primary residence from forced sale by creditors. This exemption is enshrined in the Florida Constitution (Article X, Section 4) and further detailed in state statutes. It allows homeowners to exempt an unlimited value of their home or other property covered under the homestead definition, as long as the property does not exceed half an acre in a municipality or 160 acres elsewhere. The exemption applies to the entire family and not just individual spouses, meaning that as long as the property is the family's primary residence, it is protected. No formal declaration is required to establish a homestead; the owner's intent and actual use are sufficient. However, the homestead status can be lost through abandonment, which requires a cessation of use and the intent not to return, alienation, or death. The burden of proof for abandonment lies with the party claiming it. Florida's homestead laws are liberally applied to promote their purpose of securing a family's residence against debts.