HOMESTEAD PROTECTION
If you filed a homestead declaration prior to March 16, 2011, your $500,000 protection will continue to apply. There is no need to re-file your homestead protections due to these statutory changes. The new law creates an automatic $125,000 protection on homes that do not have a homestead declaration filed at the Registry of Deeds in order to safeguard deposits and situations where a declaration may be incorrectly filed. Homestead protections now extend to pre-existing debts and the proceeds of a sale or insurance coverage.Trusts are now eligible for homestead protections. For those individuals over the age of 62 (elderly) or legally disabled, the new law now expressly states that a homestead may be filed on each individual’s behalf and the aggregate protection increases to $1 million. Homestead declarations filed on manufactured homes must now be filed at the local Registry of Deeds, not the town offices.
