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 Minnesota, the homestead exemption is a legal provision that protects a person's primary residence from being sold to satisfy most types of creditors' claims. The exemption applies to a dwelling house, its appurtenances, and the land on which it is situated, up to a certain acreage and value limit. As of the knowledge cutoff in 2023, the exemption amount can protect up to $420,000 in value for a standard homestead and up to $1,050,000 for an agricultural homestead. The exemption is automatically applied; no specific writing is required to claim it, but the owner must demonstrate the intent to use and occupy the property as a primary residence. In Minnesota, the homestead exemption is available to individuals and is also extended to the family unit. The property remains protected under the homestead exemption unless there is evidence of abandonment, alienation, or death of the owner. Abandonment would require proof that the claimant has ceased to use the property as a primary residence and does not intend to return.