Reply #4: She's in Texas, she can declare a homestead [View All]

The Texas homestead exemption began as protection for the wives and children of the early settlers in the event the man of the house was lured into a not-so-honest game of chance or decided he needed a few dollars more to continue a night out on the town. More seriously though, the wives and children of a deceased breadwinner were secure in their home(stead) and could not be removed because of some improper or manufactured claim of debt.

As a state constitutional protection, it has withstood the test of time and remained virtually unchanged as we have moved from the 19th century through most of the 20th century.

The practical protections of the homestead laws prevent any creditor (except for the mortgage holder, a taxing authority, or the holder of a note created for a home improvement loan) from forcing the sale of the homestead to satisfy nonpayment of a debt. It is difficult to "abandon" the homestead protection to borrow against its equity. An owner who wants to maintain property ownership and be able to borrow against its equity would have to move out of the property and demonstrate it is now being used as rental/income- producing real estate and that he or she has established a new homestead elsewhere.

http://www.dallasrelo.com/homestead.html