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 Nebraska, the homestead exemption is a legal provision designed to protect a portion of a person's home and adjoining land from being sold to satisfy debts, ensuring that individuals have a secure place to live despite financial difficulties. Nebraska's homestead exemption is found in the Nebraska Constitution and statutes, specifically Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 40-101 to 40-116. The exemption applies to a homestead up to $60,000 in value, which includes a dwelling used as the family residence and the land on which it is situated. The exemption is available to every person who is the head of a family or who is over the age of sixty or who is disabled. To claim the exemption, no specific writing is required; rather, the owner must demonstrate concurrent usage and the intent to maintain the property as a homestead. The exemption is construed liberally to fulfill its purpose of providing a secure home for families. In Nebraska, the homestead exemption applies to the entire family and not to individual spouses, meaning that as long as one spouse intends to use and does use the property as a family homestead, it is protected. The exemption remains in place unless the property is abandoned, alienated, or the claimant dies. Abandonment requires a cessation of use and the intent not to return, and the burden of proof for abandonment lies with the party asserting it.