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Idaho Exempt Property and Homestead Allowance
Support GuideIdaho19 min read

Idaho Exempt Property and Homestead Allowance

Idaho gives a surviving spouse a $50,000 homestead allowance and up to $10,000 in exempt property. Both must be applied for.

By Settled Editorial

Idaho gives a surviving spouse two cash-value claims against a decedent's estate: a $50,000 homestead allowance under Idaho Code 15-2-402 and up to $10,000 of exempt property under Idaho Code 15-2-403. If there is no spouse, certain children take them instead. Neither one happens on its own. Idaho Code 15-2-405 says both "are not mandatory or automatic, but rather must be applied for," inside the same window that bars a creditor's claim.

That last rule is where Idaho families lose money. The personal representative (the executor, in everyday terms) owes the family no warning that the right exists, and the deadline can close four months after a newspaper notice. This guide covers who qualifies, what each allowance buys, how to apply, where the allowances rank against debts, and why Idaho has no family allowance. This is general information, not legal advice.

The Two Allowances at a Glance

Homestead allowanceExempt property
StatuteIdaho Code 15-2-402Idaho Code 15-2-403
Amount$50,000 flatUp to $10,000, above any security interests
What it isA right to a sum of moneyA right to tangible personal property
Surviving spouseTakes all of itTakes all of it
No spouseSplit equally among children under 21 the decedent had to support and disabled children the decedent supportedThe decedent's children, jointly
Can a will remove itFor the spouse and adult children, yes (15-2-406)For the spouse and adult children, yes (15-2-406)
AutomaticNo. Must be applied for (15-2-405)No. Must be applied for (15-2-405)

Both rights sit on top of whatever else the family receives. Section 15-2-402 says the homestead allowance "is in addition to any share passing to the surviving spouse or minor or disabled child by the will of the decedent unless otherwise provided in the will, or by intestate succession, or by way of elective share." Section 15-2-403 says the same of exempt property. A spouse who inherits the whole estate under the will still gains something by applying when the estate owes debts, because the allowances come ahead of most creditors.

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The Homestead Allowance Is Money, Not the House

The name misleads people. Idaho Code 15-2-402 says the homestead allowance "is not a right to claim ownership of, or succession to, any homestead owned by the decedent at the time of the decedent's death but is only the right to claim the sum set forth above." The sum is $50,000.

So a surviving spouse who rents still qualifies. A spouse whose husband or wife owned no real estate at all still qualifies. The allowance is paid out of estate property, and the claimant may select which property satisfies it (more on selection below).

Who takes it

Section 15-2-402 answers in two steps:

  1. A surviving spouse takes the full homestead allowance.
  2. If there is no surviving spouse, the allowance goes to children under the age of 21 whom the decedent was obligated to support, and to children who were in fact being supported by the decedent and who are disabled as defined in 42 U.S.C. section 1382c. Each such child takes an equal share: $50,000 divided by the number of qualifying children.

An adult child who is not disabled, or a disabled adult child the decedent was not supporting, takes no part of the homestead allowance. Idaho sets the minor age at 21 for this purpose, not 18.

Exempt Property: Household Goods and Vehicles, Up to $10,000

Idaho Code 15-2-403 entitles the surviving spouse to tangible personal property worth up to "ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in excess of any security interests" on it. The statute lists household furniture, automobiles, furnishings, appliances, family heirlooms and personal effects, and says the list is "not limited to" those items.

Three details matter:

  • Equity, not sticker value. The $10,000 is measured above any lien. A $20,000 pickup with a $14,000 loan against it counts as $6,000. The lender keeps its security interest, so the claimant who takes the truck takes it subject to the loan.
  • Tangible property only. Bank accounts, brokerage accounts and other intangibles fall outside the section's words. The text names physical things.
  • The children's version has no age test. With no surviving spouse, 15-2-403 gives "the decedent's children" the same property jointly. Adult children qualify here even though they are shut out of the homestead allowance.

Section 15-2-403 also says "rights to exempt property have priority over all claims against the estate," subject to the administration-cost rule covered below.

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Neither Allowance Is Automatic

This is the rule that sets Idaho apart, and most general pages miss it. Idaho Code 15-2-405 reads: "Despite any language to the contrary in this chapter, the homestead allowance and exempt property are not mandatory or automatic, but rather must be applied for by the surviving spouse and/or children, as appropriate."

The same section fixes how and when. "Even though the allowance and the right to apply for exempt property are not claims against estates, the manner of and time period for applying for the allowance or the exempt property shall be the same as set forth in sections 15-3-801, 15-3-803 and 15-3-804, Idaho Code." In plain terms, the family applies the way a creditor presents a claim, and on the creditor's clock. Our guide to the same deadline as creditor claims walks through that clock step by step.

The deadline

  • Published notice. Under Idaho Code 15-3-801(a), a personal representative may publish a notice to creditors once a week for three successive weeks. Claims must be presented within four months after the first publication.
  • Mailed notice. Under 15-3-801(b), a person who also receives written notice by mail or delivery has until the later of four months after publication or 60 days after the mailing.
  • No notice at all. Idaho Code 15-3-803(a) bars pre-death claims three years after the death if nothing shorter applies.

No warning is owed

Section 15-2-405 goes further than the creditor rules. The personal representative "shall not be required to give actual notice to a surviving spouse or a minor or disabled child of the right to apply for the homestead allowance or the exempt property." A notice the personal representative does send does not need to mention the allowances at all. And the personal representative carries no liability to the spouse or children for giving or failing to give notice, the same protection 15-3-801(c) gives against creditors.

Put those rules together and the risk is plain. A surviving spouse who is not the personal representative can see a notice to creditors run in the county paper, assume it concerns only the decedent's debts, and let the four months pass. Once they do, the right is gone.

How to apply

Idaho Code 15-3-804(a) is the "manner" 15-2-405 borrows. A creditor presents a claim by delivering or mailing a written statement to the personal representative and also filing a written statement with the clerk of the court. The claim counts as presented on the later of the two. Following the same steps for an allowance application means:

  1. Write a statement naming who you are, your relationship to the decedent, and which allowance you are applying for (homestead allowance, exempt property, or both), with the amount.
  2. Deliver or mail it to the personal representative.
  3. File it with the Clerk of the District Court in the county where the estate is open.
  4. Keep proof of both dates, because the later one controls.

Idaho probate runs in the magistrate division of the district court in each of the 44 counties; the Idaho probate guide explains the forum and the filing office.

Selecting the Property

Section 15-2-405 also says who picks the assets. "The surviving spouse, the guardians of the minor children, or children who are adults may select property of the estate as homestead allowance or exempt property." If they "are unable or fail to do so within a reasonable time," or a minor child has no guardian, the personal representative may make the selections and may sign an instrument to establish the allowance.

Two limits apply:

  • Specific gifts are protected first. If the estate is otherwise sufficient, section 15-2-405 bars using property the will gives to a named person, including items on a 15-2-513 list, to satisfy the homestead allowance or exempt property. Section 15-2-513 is the separate written list of tangible items a will can refer to. So the ring left to a named grandchild, or the tools on the handwritten list, stay out of reach unless nothing else in the estate can cover the allowances.
  • Disputes go to the court. The personal representative "or any interested person aggrieved by any selection, determination, payment, proposed payment, or failure to act" may petition the court for relief.

One more protection runs the other way. Section 15-2-405 bars a creditor of the spouse or child, or anyone claiming through them, from applying for the allowances on their behalf. The right belongs to the family member, not to the family member's own lenders.

Where the Allowances Rank Against Debts

Section 15-2-402 says the homestead allowance "is exempt from and has priority over all claims against the estate except as hereinafter set forth," and 15-2-403 gives exempt property "priority over all claims against the estate." The exception comes in the last sentence of 15-2-405: "the homestead allowance and exempt property do not take precedence over reasonable administrative costs and expenses of the estate of the decedent."

So the order in an estate that cannot pay everything runs like this:

  1. Reasonable costs and expenses of administration.
  2. The homestead allowance and exempt property, if applied for on time.
  3. The claims classes in Idaho Code 15-3-805(a)(2) through (6): reasonable funeral expenses, debts and taxes with federal preference, last-illness medical and hospital expenses, debts and taxes with Idaho preference, and all other claims.

A secured lender sits outside that ladder for its collateral. Section 15-3-803(e)(1) preserves "any proceeding to enforce any mortgage, pledge, or other lien upon property of the estate," which is why exempt property is measured above security interests in the first place. For the full claims order, see where the allowances rank.

The allowances also set the summary-administration ceiling

Idaho Code 15-3-1203 lets a personal representative skip the notice to creditors and distribute right away when the inventory shows the estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed the homestead allowance, exempt property, administration costs, reasonable funeral expenses, and last-illness medical and hospital expenses. With a surviving spouse, the two allowances alone account for $60,000 of that ceiling. The Idaho small estate guide compares that route with the $100,000 affidavit.

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What a Will Can and Cannot Do

Both allowances pass "unless otherwise provided in the will." Idaho Code 15-2-406, added in 2008, spells out the limits. A decedent may provide by will that a surviving spouse and adult children:

  1. are not entitled to any exempt property or homestead allowance; or
  2. are entitled to a limited exempt property or homestead allowance, as the will provides.

The will may not do either to minor or disabled children. And under 15-2-406(3), the will "may not condition such elimination or limitation upon whether the estate of the decedent is subject to a claim for estate recovery for medicaid benefits paid to the decedent or to a spouse of the decedent."

Read the will before assuming the allowances apply. A clause cutting them off for the spouse is valid in Idaho.

Only for Idaho Domiciliaries

Idaho Code 15-2-401 limits the whole part to "the estate of a decedent who dies domiciled in this state." For a decedent domiciled elsewhere, rights to the homestead allowance and exempt property "are governed by the law of the decedent's domicile at death." A Washington or Utah resident who owned an Idaho cabin brings that state's rules, not Idaho's figures, to an Idaho ancillary estate.

Community Property and the Allowances

Idaho is a community property state. On a death, the surviving spouse already owns their own half of the community property; that half never belongs to the decedent's estate. The allowances are claims against the decedent's estate, so they sit on top of the survivor's own half rather than replacing it. Where the will leaves the decedent's half elsewhere, or debts threaten it, the allowances are how the spouse reaches the first $60,000 of value ahead of general creditors. The Idaho community property guide covers how the two halves are identified, and Idaho surviving spouse rights covers the quasi-community elective share and the other rights a spouse holds.

Idaho Has No Family Allowance

Many states that follow the Uniform Probate Code add a third protection, a family allowance for living expenses during administration. Idaho repealed its version. Senate Bill 1419 of 2008, enacted as Session Law Chapter 182 and effective July 1, 2008, amended 15-2-401 "to remove a reference to the family allowance," removed "a provision for a certain lump sum family allowance," and removed the court petition for one. The same act replaced the old homestead allowance formula with the flat $50,000 and added 15-2-406.

The code reflects it. Idaho Code Title 15, chapter 2, part 4 runs 15-2-401, 402, 403, 405 and 406. There is no section 15-2-404; the Legislature's site returns no page for it. The current 15-2-405 was itself numbered 15-2-404 until a 2001 renumbering, which its History line records.

Two practical points follow. A page telling an Idaho family to "petition for a family allowance" describes law that no longer exists here. And for a death before July 1, 2008, the pre-2008 text governed, so an old estate reopened today may carry different figures; confirm the version in force on the date of death with the court.

Do Not Confuse It With the $175,000 Homestead Exemption

Idaho has a second homestead rule in a different title, and search results mix the two up constantly.

Probate homestead allowanceHomestead exemption
StatuteIdaho Code 15-2-402Idaho Code 55-1003
Amount$50,000Up to $175,000
Who it protectsThe decedent's spouse or qualifying childrenA living owner who occupies the home
Against whatClaims against a decedent's estateExecution by the owner's judgment creditors
Tied to a houseNo, it is a sum of moneyYes, the principal residence
How it startsApplied for within the claims windowAutomatic on occupancy (55-1004)

Idaho Code 55-1003 says "the homestead exemption amount shall not exceed the sum of one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars ($175,000)," and Idaho Code 55-1004 makes the protection automatic "from and after the time the property is occupied as a principal residence by the owner." That rule protects a debtor who is alive. It is not a probate allowance and does not replace one.

A Checklist for the Surviving Spouse

  1. Find out whether a notice to creditors has been published, and the date of the first publication. Ask the personal representative or check the county paper of general circulation.
  2. Count four months from that date. If you also received a mailed notice, count 60 days from the mailing and use the later date.
  3. Read the will for a 15-2-406 clause cutting off or limiting the allowances.
  4. List the tangible property you want as exempt property, with values net of any loans, up to $10,000.
  5. Deliver a written application to the personal representative and file it with the Clerk of the District Court before the deadline.
  6. Keep copies and proof of both dates.

If you are the personal representative as well as the spouse, the same deadline still applies to your own application. The Idaho executor duties guide covers the notice to creditors from the other side.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is the Idaho homestead allowance?

$50,000. Idaho Code 15-2-402 says the amount of the homestead allowance shall be fifty thousand dollars ($50,000). It goes to the surviving spouse. If there is no surviving spouse, it is divided equally among the decedent's children under 21 whom the decedent was obligated to support and the disabled children the decedent was in fact supporting. It is a right to a sum of money, not a right to own or live in the house.

How much is Idaho exempt property?

Up to $10,000 in tangible personal property, measured above any security interests. Idaho Code 15-2-403 lists household furniture, automobiles, furnishings, appliances, family heirlooms and personal effects. The surviving spouse takes it, and if there is no spouse the decedent's children take it jointly. A $20,000 car with a $14,000 loan counts as $6,000 toward the $10,000.

Are the Idaho allowances automatic?

No. Idaho Code 15-2-405 says the homestead allowance and exempt property are not mandatory or automatic, but rather must be applied for by the surviving spouse or children. The application follows the same manner and time limits as a creditor's claim under Idaho Code 15-3-801, 15-3-803 and 15-3-804, and the personal representative is not required to tell the family the right exists.

What is the deadline to apply for the homestead allowance in Idaho?

The same deadline that bars a creditor. If the personal representative publishes a notice to creditors, the window closes four months after the first publication under Idaho Code 15-3-801(a), or 60 days after a mailed notice if that is later under 15-3-801(b). If no notice is published, Idaho Code 15-3-803(a) sets an outer limit of three years after the death.

Does Idaho have a family allowance?

No. The Idaho Legislature removed it in 2008. Senate Bill 1419, Session Law Chapter 182, effective July 1, 2008, repealed the family allowance and set the current flat homestead allowance. Idaho Code Title 15, chapter 2, part 4 now runs 15-2-401, 402, 403, 405 and 406, with no section 15-2-404.

Can a will cut out the Idaho homestead allowance?

For a surviving spouse or adult children, yes. Idaho Code 15-2-406 lets a will say they get no exempt property or homestead allowance, or a limited amount. A will cannot do that to minor or disabled children, and it cannot make the cut depend on whether the estate faces a Medicaid estate recovery claim.

Is the Idaho homestead allowance the same as the $175,000 homestead exemption?

No. The $175,000 figure in Idaho Code 55-1003 is the homestead exemption from execution, which shields a living owner's home from a judgment creditor. The probate homestead allowance in Idaho Code 15-2-402 is a separate $50,000 claim against a decedent's estate, and it is not tied to owning a house at all.

Related Guides

Sources:

This guide explains the Idaho homestead allowance and exempt property for a general reader. The application deadline depends on dates only the personal representative's notice and the court file can confirm, so check them with the Clerk of the District Court handling the estate or with a licensed Idaho attorney. It is not legal advice.

Information current as of September 24, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Idaho can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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