§ 20:1 — Declaration of homestead; exemption from seizure and sale; debts excluded from

Louisiana § 20:1

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 20: Homesteads and Exemptions

Text

§1. Declaration of homestead; exemption from seizure and sale; debts excluded from
exemption; waiver; certain proceeds from property insurance exempted
A.(1) The bona fide homestead consists of a residence occupied by the owner and
the land on which the residence is located, including any building and appurtenances located
thereon, and any contiguous tracts up to a total of five acres if the residence is within a
municipality, or up to a total of two hundred acres of land if the residence is not located in
a municipality.
(2) The homestead is exempt from seizure and sale under any writ, mandate, or
process whatsoever, except as provided by Subsections C and D of this Section. This
exemption extends to thirty-five thousand dollars in value of the homestead, except in the
case of obligations arising directly as a result of a catastrophic or terminal illness or injury,
in which case the exemption shall apply to the full value of the homestead based upon its
value one year before such seizure. This homestead exemption from seizure and sale shall
extend automatically to the proceeds from any property insurance policy received as a result
of damage caused by a gubernatorially declared disaster to a homestead and that are held
separately in an escrow account identified as insurance proceeds paid from the damage of a
homestead for its repair or replacement.
(3) For the purposes of this Section, "catastrophic or terminal illness or injury" shall
mean an illness or injury which creates uninsured obligations to health care providers of
more than ten thousand dollars and which are greater than fifty percent of the annual adjusted
gross income of the debtor, as established by an average of federal income tax returns for the
three preceding years.
B. The exemption provided in Subsection A shall extend to the surviving spouse or
minor children of a deceased owner and shall apply when the homestead is occupied as such
and title to it is in either the husband or wife but not to more than one homestead owned by
the husband or the wife. The exemption shall continue to apply to a homestead otherwise
eligible while owned in indivision by the spouses, and occupied by either of them, when the
community property regime of which the homestead is a part is dissolved by judgment which
so provides, pursuant to R.S. 9:381 et seq., or Article 159 or 2375 of the Louisiana Civil
Code. If either spouse becomes the sole owner and continues to occupy the homestead as
such, the exemption as to that spouse shall be deemed to have continued uninterrupted.
C. This exemption shall not apply to any of the following debts:
(1) For the purchase price of property or any part of such purchase price.
(2) For labor, money, and material furnished for building, repairing, or improving
the homestead.
(3) For liabilities incurred by any public officer, or fiduciary, or any attorney at law,
for money collected or received on deposits.
(4) For taxes or assessments.
(5) For rent which bears a privilege upon said property.
(6) For the amount which may be due a homestead or building and loan association
for a loan made by it on the security of the property; provided, that if at the time of making
such loan the borrower be married, and not separated from bed and board from the other
spouse, the latter shall have consented thereto.
(7) For the amount which may be due for money advanced on the security of a
mortgage on said property; provided, that if at the time of granting such mortgage the
mortgagor be married, and not separated from bed and board from the other spouse, the latter
shall have consented thereto.
(8) For any obligation arising from the conviction of a felony or misdemeanor which
has the possibility of imprisonment of at least six months.
D. The right to sell voluntarily any property that is exempt as a homestead shall be
preserved, but no sale shall destroy or impair any rights of creditors thereon. Any person
entitled to a homestead may waive same, in whole or in part, by signing a written waiver
thereof; a copy of such waiver shall be provided to the homeowner; however, if the person
is married, and not separated from bed and board from the other spouse, then the waiver shall
not be effective unless signed by the latter, and all such waivers shall be recorded in the
mortgage records of the parish where the homestead is situated. However, if the homestead
is the separate property of one of the spouses, the homestead exemption may be waived by
that spouse alone in any mortgage granted on the homestead, without the necessity of
obtaining a waiver from the non-owning spouse. The waiver may be either general or special
and shall have effect from the time of recording. The waiver shall not be required or
permitted for the rendering of medical treatment, medical services, or hospitalization.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a waiver of exemption from
seizure as to an exempted homestead shall automatically include insurance for that property
to the extent subject to the creditor's mortgage or security interest.

Legislative History

Amended by Acts 1977, No. 446, §1; Acts 1980, No. 249, §1, eff. July 12, 1980; Acts 1999, No. 1365, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2000; Acts 2004, No. 481, §1; Acts 2006, No. 601, §2; Acts 2009, No. 201, §2, eff. June 30, 2009.