Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Amount of Homestead coverage

There are two types of homestead in California; a declared homestead and a so-called automatic homestead that you get whether you file a declaration or not.

The provisions are somewhat too complex and lengthy to summarize on LawGuru. You should look them up at your county law library. See Code of Civil Procedure section 704.910 et seq. for the declared homestead and section 704.710 et seq. for the automatic homestead. You will see that the exemption varies by marital status, age and so on. The range is typically $50,000 to $100,000.

A homestead of either type provides less protection against creditors than is widely believed. It provides no protection against holders of liens (e.g. the mortgage) on the home itself.