NRS: CHAPTER 115 - HOMESTEADS

[Rev. 6/29/2024 3:00:53 PM--2023]

CHAPTER 115 - HOMESTEADS

NRS 115.010 Exemption from sale on execution and from process of court; amount of exemption; exceptions; extension of exemption.

NRS 115.020 Declaration of homestead: Contents; recording; notice required of person who charges fee for recording declaration; rights not extinguished by certain conveyances; rights of trustee; penalty.

NRS 115.025 Form for making declaration of homestead: Design and contents; availability.

NRS 115.030 Tenants in common: Declaration of homestead.

NRS 115.040 Mortgage or alienation of homestead property; abandonment of homestead.

NRS 115.050 Execution against homestead.

NRS 115.055 Proceeds from sale of homestead only exempt from execution if reinvested in another property that is identified and taken possession of within certain periods.

NRS 115.060 Disposition in case of death.

NRS 115.070 Conveyance of homestead by owner when spouse insane: Procedure.

NRS 115.080 Property not exempt from sale for taxes.

NRS 115.090 Property not exempt from recovery of money owed to Department of Health and Human Services for Medicaid benefits.

_________

NRS 115.005 Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. “Equity” means the amount that is determined by subtracting from the fair market value of the property the value of any liens excepted from the homestead exemption pursuant to subsection 3 of NRS 115.010 or NRS 115.090.

2. “Homestead” means the property consisting of:

(a) A quantity of land, together with the dwelling house thereon and its appurtenances;

(b) A mobile home whether or not the underlying land is owned by the claimant; or

(c) A unit, whether real or personal property, existing pursuant to chapter 116 or 117 of NRS, with any appurtenant limited common elements and its interest in the common elements of the common-interest community,

Ê to be selected by both spouses, or either of them, or a single person claiming the homestead.

(Added to NRS by 1989, 646; A 1991, 579; 2003, 879; 2017, 781)

NRS 115.010 Exemption from sale on execution and from process of court; amount of exemption; exceptions; extension of exemption.

1. The homestead is not subject to forced sale on execution or any final process from any court, except as otherwise provided by subsections 2, 3 and 5, and NRS 115.090 and except as otherwise required by federal law.

2. The exemption provided in subsection 1 extends only to that amount of equity in the property held by the claimant which does not exceed $605,000 in value, unless allodial title has been established and not relinquished, in which case the exemption provided in subsection 1 extends to all equity in the dwelling, its appurtenances and the land on which it is located.

3. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, the exemption provided in subsection 1 does not extend to process to enforce the payment of obligations contracted for the purchase of the property, or for improvements made thereon, including any mechanic’s lien lawfully obtained, or for legal taxes, or for:

(a) Any mortgage or deed of trust thereon executed and given, including, without limitation, any second or subsequent mortgage, mortgage obtained through refinancing, line of credit taken against the property and a home equity loan; or

(b) Any lien to which prior consent has been given through the acceptance of property subject to any recorded declaration of restrictions, deed restriction, restrictive covenant or equitable servitude, specifically including any lien in favor of an association pursuant to NRS 116.3116 or 117.070,

Ê by both spouses, when that relation exists.

4. If allodial title has been established and not relinquished, the exemption provided in subsection 1 extends to process to enforce the payment of obligations contracted for the purchase of the property, and for improvements made thereon, including any mechanic’s lien lawfully obtained, and for legal taxes levied by a state or local government, and for:

(a) Any mortgage or deed of trust thereon; and

(b) Any lien even if prior consent has been given through the acceptance of property subject to any recorded declaration of restrictions, deed restriction, restrictive covenant or equitable servitude, specifically including any lien in favor of an association pursuant to NRS 116.3116 or 117.070,

Ê unless a waiver for the specific obligation to which the judgment relates has been executed by all allodial titleholders of the property.

5. Establishment of allodial title does not exempt the property from forfeiture pursuant to NRS 179.1156 to 179.121, inclusive, 179.1211 to 179.1235, inclusive, or 207.350 to 207.520, inclusive.

6. Any declaration of homestead which has been filed before July 1, 2007, shall be deemed to have been amended on that date by extending the homestead exemption commensurate with any increase in the amount of equity held by the claimant in the property selected and claimed for the exemption up to the amount permitted by law on that date, but the increase does not impair the right of any creditor to execute upon the property when that right existed before July 1, 2007.

[Part 1:72:1865; A 1879, 140; 1949, 51; 1943 NCL § 3315]—(NRS A 1965, 28; 1971, 575; 1975, 215, 981; 1977, 933, 1492; 1979, 984; 1981, 625; 1983, 104, 662; 1985, 13; 1989, 3, 646; 1991, 579; 1995, 225; 1997, 3419; 2003, 879, 1008; 2005, 1010, 2226; 2007, 205, 3026; 2017, 781; 2019, 290)

1. The selection must be made by either spouse, or both of them, or the single person, declaring an intention in writing to claim the property as a homestead. The selection may be made on the form prescribed by the Real Estate Division of the Department of Business and Industry pursuant to NRS 115.025.

2. The declaration must state:

(a) When made by a married person or persons, that they or either of them are married, or if not married, that he or she is a householder.

(b) When made by a married person or persons, that they or either of them, as the case may be, are, at the time of making the declaration, residing with their family, or with the person or persons under their care and maintenance, on the premises, particularly describing the premises.

(c) When made by any claimant under this section, that it is their or his or her intention to use and claim the property as a homestead.

3. The declaration must be signed by the person or persons making it and acknowledged and recorded as conveyances affecting real property are required to be acknowledged and recorded. If the property declared upon as a homestead is the separate property of either spouse, both must join in the execution and acknowledgment of the declaration.

4. If a person solicits another person to allow the soliciting person to file a declaration of homestead on behalf of the other person and charges or accepts a fee or other valuable consideration for recording the declaration of homestead for the other person, the soliciting person shall, before the declaration is recorded or before the fee or other valuable consideration is charged to or accepted from the other person, provide that person with a notice written in bold type which states that:

(a) Except for the fee which may be charged by the county recorder for recording a declaration of homestead, a declaration of homestead may be recorded in the county in which the property is located without the payment of a fee; and

(b) The person may record the declaration of homestead on his or her own behalf.

Ê The notice must clearly indicate the amount of the fee which may be charged by the county recorder for recording a declaration of homestead.

5. The rights acquired by declaring a homestead are not extinguished by the conveyance of the underlying property in trust for the benefit of the person or persons who declared it. A trustee may by similar declaration claim property, held by the trustee, as a homestead for the settlor or for one or more beneficiaries of the trust, or both, if the person or persons for whom the claim is made reside on or in the property.

6. A person who violates the provisions of subsection 4 is guilty of a misdemeanor.

[Part 1:72:1865; A 1879, 140; 1949, 51; 1943 NCL § 3315]—(NRS A 1971, 575; 1983, 662; 1985, 13; 1995, 226; 2009, 45; 2017, 782)

NRS 115.025 Form for making declaration of homestead: Design and contents; availability.

1. The Real Estate Division of the Department of Business and Industry shall:

(a) Solicit recommendations from each county recorder concerning the design and contents of a form that may be used to make a declaration of homestead pursuant to NRS 115.020; and

(b) Prescribe such a form after considering all recommendations solicited pursuant to paragraph (a).

2. The form must provide for the inclusion of all information, statements and signatures required for a declaration pursuant to NRS 111.312 and 115.020.

3. The form must be made available, free of charge:

(a) By the Real Estate Division at its principal office designated pursuant to NRS 645.170 and at each branch office established pursuant to NRS 645.170 and on any website that it maintains on the Internet or its successor; and

(b) By each county recorder at the office of the county recorder and on any website maintained by the county recorder in his or her official capacity on the Internet or its successor.

(Added to NRS by 2009, 45)

NRS 115.030 Tenants in common: Declaration of homestead. Tenants in common may declare for homestead rights upon their respective estates in lands, and the improvements thereon; and hold and enjoy homestead rights and privileges therein, subject to the rights of their cotenants, to enforce partition of such common property as in other cases of tenants in common.

[Part 1:72:1865; A 1879, 140; 1949, 51; 1943 NCL § 3315]

NRS 115.040 Mortgage or alienation of homestead property; abandonment of homestead.

1. A mortgage or alienation of any kind, made for the purpose of securing a loan or indebtedness upon the homestead property, is not valid for any purpose, unless the signature of both spouses, when that relationship exists, is obtained to the mortgage or alienation and their signatures are properly acknowledged.

2. The homestead property shall not be deemed to be abandoned without a declaration thereof in writing, signed and acknowledged by both spouses, or the single person claiming the homestead, and recorded in the same office and in the same manner as the declaration of claim to the homestead is required to be recorded.

3. If either spouse is not a resident of this State, the signature of the spouse and the acknowledgment thereof is not necessary to the validity of any mortgage or alienation of the homestead before it becomes the homestead of the debtor.

[2:72:1865; B § 187; BH § 540; C § 551; RL § 2143; NCL § 3316]—(NRS A 1963, 28; 1971, 576; 1979, 281; 1983, 105; 1985, 14; 2017, 783)

NRS 115.050 Execution against homestead.

1. Whenever execution has been issued against the property of a party claiming the property as a homestead, and the creditor in the judgment makes an oath before the judge of the district court of the county in which the property is situated that the amount of equity held by the claimant in the property exceeds, to the best of the creditor’s information and belief, the sum of $605,000, the judge shall, upon notice to the debtor, appoint three disinterested and competent persons as appraisers to estimate and report as to the amount of equity held by the claimant in the property and, if the amount of equity exceeds the sum of $605,000, determine whether the property can be divided so as to leave the property subject to the homestead exemption without material injury.

2. If it appears, upon the report, to the satisfaction of the judge that the property can be thus divided, the judge shall order the excess to be sold under execution. If it appears that the property cannot be thus divided, and the amount of equity held by the claimant in the property exceeds the exemption allowed by this chapter, the judge shall order the entire property to be sold, and out of the proceeds the sum of $605,000 to be paid to the defendant in execution, and the excess to be applied to the satisfaction on the execution. No bid under $605,000 may be received by the officer making the sale.

3. When the execution is against a spouse, the judge may direct the $605,000 to be deposited in court, to be paid out only upon the joint receipt of both spouses, and, except as otherwise provided in NRS 115.055, the deposit possesses all the protection against legal process and voluntary disposition by either spouse as did the original homestead.

4. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 115.055, if the sum of $605,000 is paid to the defendant in execution pursuant to subsection 2 or to a spouse pursuant to subsection 3, such sum of $605,000 possesses all the protection against legal process and voluntary disposition by the defendant or spouse as did the original homestead.

[3:72:1865; B § 188; BH § 541; C § 552; RL § 2144; NCL § 3317]—(NRS A 1975, 215; 1979, 282, 984; 1981, 625; 1983, 663; 1989, 3, 647; 1995, 226; 2003, 1009; 2005, 1010, 2227; 2007, 3026; 2017, 783; 2019, 291, 1851)

NRS 115.055 Proceeds from sale of homestead only exempt from execution if reinvested in another property that is identified and taken possession of within certain periods. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the proceeds of $605,000 from the sale of a homestead pursuant to subsection 2 or 3 of NRS 115.050 are only exempt from execution if:

1. Such proceeds are reinvested in another property of like kind for which the declaration of a homestead will be made; and

2. The other property is:

(a) Identified not later than 45 days after the sale of the homestead; and

(b) Taken possession of not later than 180 days after the sale of the homestead.

(Added to NRS by 2019, 1851)

NRS 115.060 Disposition in case of death. Except as otherwise provided in a premarital agreement between a married couple which is enforceable pursuant to chapter 123A of NRS:

1. If the property declared upon as a homestead is community property, the married couple shall be deemed to hold the homestead as community property with a right of survivorship. Upon the death of either spouse:

(a) The exemption of the homestead from execution continues, without further filing, as to any debt or liability existing against the spouses, or either of them, until the death of the survivor and thereafter as to any debt or liability existing against the survivor at the time of the survivor’s death.

(b) The property vests absolutely in the survivor.

2. If the property declared upon as a homestead is the separate property of either spouse, the married couple shall be deemed to hold the right to exemption of the homestead from execution jointly while both spouses are living. If the property retains its character as separate property until the death of one or the other of the spouses:

(a) If it is the separate property of the survivor, the exemption of the homestead continues.

(b) If it was the separate property of the decedent, the exemption of the homestead from execution continues as to any debt or liability existing against the spouses, or either of them, at the time of death of the decedent but ceases as to any subsequent debt or liability of the survivor.

3. If the property declared upon as a homestead is the property of a single person, upon the death of the single person:

(a) The exemption of the homestead from execution continues, without further filing, as to any debt or liability existing against the person at the time of his or her death and as to any subsequent debt or liability against a person who was living in his or her house at the time of his or her death, if that person continues to reside on the homestead property and is related to him or her by consanguinity or affinity, even if the person through whom the relation by affinity was created predeceased the declarant.

(b) The right of enjoyment of the property belongs to each person described in paragraph (a) until that person no longer qualifies under that paragraph.

4. If two or more persons who are not related by consanguinity or affinity have claimed as a homestead their respective undivided interests in a single parcel of land or a mobile home, upon the death of one the exemption of the entire property from execution continues as to any debt or liability of the decedent and the other declarants until the death of the last declarant to die, but only for the benefit of a declarant who continues to reside on or in the property.

[4:72:1865; A 1879, 140; BH § 542; C § 553; RL § 2145; NCL § 3318]—(NRS A 1965, 60; 1977, 933; 1983, 105, 663; 1985, 14, 145, 146; 1989, 1007; 2017, 784)

NRS 115.070 Conveyance of homestead by owner when spouse insane: Procedure.

1. If the spouse of any owner of a homestead is insane, and the owner desires to convey the homestead, or any interest therein, the owner may petition the district court in which the homestead is situated for license to convey the homestead. The court, upon reasonable and not less than 20 days’ notice of the petition to the kindred of the insane spouse residing in this state (which notice may be personal or by publication in some newspaper in the county, or directed by the court), may hear and determine the petition, and may license the owner to convey the homestead, or any interest therein, by the sole deed of the owner. The license must be recorded in the office where the homestead is recorded, and thereafter the sole deed operates as if the spouse had been sane and joined in the deed.

2. On granting the license, the court may make such special order as to the investment or disposition of the funds derived from conveyance as it deems necessary to protect the interest of the insane spouse.

3. On the hearing of the petition for license, any of the kindred may appear and be heard in the premises, and may appeal from any order made on the subject in the same manner provided for other appeals from decrees of the district court.

[5:72:1865; B § 190; BH § 543; C § 554; RL § 2146; NCL § 3319] + [6:72:1865; B § 191; BH § 544; C § 555; RL § 2147; NCL § 3320] + [7:72:1865; B § 192; BH § 545; C § 556; RL § 2148; NCL § 3321]—(NRS A 1979, 282)

NRS 115.080 Property not exempt from sale for taxes. Nothing in this chapter shall be so construed as exempting any real or personal property from sale for taxes.

[8:72:1865; B § 193; BH § 546; C § 557; RL § 2149; NCL § 3322]

NRS 115.090 Property not exempt from recovery of money owed to Department of Health and Human Services for Medicaid benefits. Nothing in this chapter exempts any real or personal property from any statute of this State that authorizes the recovery of money owed to the Department of Health and Human Services as a result of the payment of benefits from Medicaid through the imposition or foreclosure of a lien against the property of a recipient of Medicaid in the manner set forth in NRS 422.29302, 422.29304 and 422.29306.

(Added to NRS by 2003, 878; A 2013, 1315)