Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

California has two kinds of homestead exemption, providing partially-overlapping protection of certain assets from certain creditors. One is the so-called "automatic homestead" for which you need not file anything in advance of need. The other is the "declared homestead" which requires filling out and recording a relatively simple declaration. Recording is done at the office of the County Recorder in the county where the declarant has his/her primary residence. The fee charged by the recorder depends upon the number of pages in the document, but I'd guess that in most counties and for most declarations the fee will be about $15. You may want to figure in the cost of buying a fill-in-the-blanks declaration form at a legal statioery shop, and maybe about $10 to have it notarized after you fill it in. Final advice: fill in the form very carefully, especially as to the description of the property being homesteaded (copy it from your deed or title insurance), and be aware that it does not protect you against voluntary liens or anything previously recorded against you or your property (that's where the automatic homestead protects you a little).