Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

Re: Homestead

If you both have a share of title in the house, you have three options: (1)file two "single" forms now; (2) the owner feeling the higher financial insecurity level files as a single person now; or (3) wait until you're married and file the "married" form.

Declared homesteads are certainly useful and have their place, but I do not recommend that a person feeling no threat of judgment record one. The debt-collection protection afforded is somewhat limited, somwhat overlapping protection is already there under the automatic homestead exemption, and prospective lenders may see the recent recording of a declared homestead as a caution flag.