Louisiana Homestead Exemption After Death

Louisiana has two homestead exemptions. They share a name and almost nothing else. One protects $35,000 of your home from creditor seizure under La. R.S. 20:1. The other exempts the first $7,500 of assessed value from property tax under La. Const. art. VII, § 20. Different sources, different purposes, different acreage limits, and figures that cannot be compared.

After a death, one question matters more than either figure: a surviving spouse who takes a usufruct rather than ownership keeps the property-tax exemption. The constitution says so in terms. This page is general information, not legal advice.

The Two Exemptions Side by Side

Neither one transfers title. Title passes through the succession under the testament, the community-property rules, or Louisiana intestate succession. The exemptions follow the property and decide what a creditor or a tax collector can do about it.

The Property-Tax Exemption Survives a Usufruct

This is the part that matters most after a death, and it is the part families most often get wrong.

Louisiana's default when a spouse dies leaving descendants is that the surviving spouse takes a usufruct over the decedent's community share while the children take the naked ownership. In plain terms, the spouse has the right to use and enjoy the home, and the children hold the title underneath. A reader who understands that much often assumes the homestead exemption is gone, because the survivor no longer owns the house outright.

The constitution answers this directly. Under La. Const. art. VII, § 20(A)(2), the homestead exemption "shall extend and apply fully to the surviving spouse or a former spouse when the homestead is occupied by" them and title is in the name of:

• the surviving spouse as owner of any interest, or either or both former spouses;
• the surviving spouse as usufructuary; or
• a testamentary trust established for the benefit of the surviving spouse and the descendants of the deceased spouse or surviving spouse.

The section closes that list with a limit: "but not to more than one homestead owned by either the husband or wife, or both."

So the exemption turns on occupancy plus one of those title positions, not on outright ownership. A surviving spouse living in the home as usufructuary keeps it. See Louisiana surviving spouse rights for how the usufruct itself works.

Section 20(A)(3) extends the same treatment to a home held in trust, where the principal beneficiaries are the settlors who were the immediate prior owners of the homestead and a principal beneficiary occupies it.

What the Property-Tax Exemption Covers

Under § 20(A)(1), the bona fide homestead is a tract of land, or two or more tracts with a residence on one and a field, pasture, or garden on the others, not exceeding 160 acres, along with buildings and appurtenances, whether rural or urban, owned and occupied by the person or persons owning it in indivision. It is exempt from state, parish, and special ad valorem taxes to the extent of $7,500 of the assessed valuation.

At Louisiana's ten percent residential assessment ratio, $7,500 of assessed value corresponds to the first $75,000 of fair market value.

Two details worth knowing:

• The exemption applies fully to a mobile home that serves as a bona fide home, owned and occupied by the owner, even if that person does not own the land it sits on. It does not extend to the land in that case.
• Only one homestead exemption may be claimed per owner-occupant, for the home that is the owner's domicile.

Claim or transfer it through the parish assessor for the parish where the home sits. Assessors keep their own procedures and deadlines, so contact that office rather than assuming a statewide process.

The Seizure Exemption: $35,000, and When It Becomes Unlimited

La. R.S. 20:1 is a different protection with a different job. The bona fide homestead consists of the residence occupied by the owner and the land it sits on, including buildings and appurtenances and any contiguous tracts up to a total of five acres if the residence is within a municipality, or up to 200 acres if it is not.

That homestead is exempt from seizure and sale under any writ, mandate, or process, and the exemption extends to $35,000 in value.

The exception is larger than the rule in one situation. For obligations arising directly from a catastrophic or terminal illness or injury, the exemption applies to the full value of the homestead, based on its value one year before the seizure. A medical catastrophe does not cost a Louisiana family its home equity.

The exemption also extends automatically to proceeds of a property-insurance policy received for damage to a homestead caused by a gubernatorially declared disaster, where those proceeds are held separately. In a hurricane state that provision does real work.

What the Seizure Exemption Does Not Stop

The statute lists obligations the homestead is not exempt from, and they cover most of the debts secured by a house:

• A vendor's privilege or purchase-money obligation, meaning the debt incurred to buy the property itself.
• A mortgage or security right granted on the property by the owner.
• Taxes and assessments.

So the exemption shelters equity from a general creditor. It does not defeat the mortgage, the seller's claim for the purchase price, or the tax collector. Before treating a home as protected, check what is recorded against it. The Louisiana creditor claims guide covers how succession debts are handled, and Louisiana exempt property and family allowance covers the other protections that sit alongside this one.

Louisiana has also opted out of the federal bankruptcy exemptions, so a debtor in bankruptcy here generally uses the Louisiana set, including this homestead exemption and the La. R.S. 13:3881 general exemptions.

A Section That Looks Related and Is Not

La. Const. art. VII, § 21 sits directly after the homestead exemption and is titled "Other Property Exemptions." It covers public lands, nonprofit property, and other categories, and it is the home of Louisiana's additional ad valorem relief for certain disabled veterans and their surviving spouses.

It is a separate section with separate rules. A source that cites "article VII" for a homestead figure without naming the section is worth checking, because § 20 and § 21 are adjacent, both about exemptions, and easy to confuse.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a surviving spouse lose the homestead exemption if the children own the house?

No, provided the spouse occupies it. La. Const. art. VII, § 20(A)(2) extends the property-tax homestead exemption fully to a surviving spouse who occupies the home when title is held by the spouse as usufructuary, which is Louisiana's ordinary outcome when descendants survive and the children take naked ownership. It also extends to a spouse who owns any interest, and to a qualifying testamentary trust.

Is the $35,000 homestead exemption the same as the one on my tax bill?

No. The $35,000 figure is La. R.S. 20:1 and protects home equity from seizure and sale by a creditor. The exemption on a property-tax bill is La. Const. art. VII, § 20 and covers the first $7,500 of assessed value, which is $75,000 of fair market value. One answers a creditor, the other lowers a bill, and they even use different acreage limits.

Can the homestead exemption stop a mortgage foreclosure?

No. La. R.S. 20:1 does not apply to a mortgage or security right the owner granted on the property, to a vendor's privilege or purchase-money obligation, or to taxes and assessments. It shelters equity from general creditors, not from the lender holding a mortgage on the home.

What happens if the debt came from a serious illness?

The exemption becomes unlimited. For obligations arising directly from a catastrophic or terminal illness or injury, La. R.S. 20:1 applies the exemption to the full value of the homestead, measured at its value one year before the seizure, rather than stopping at $35,000.

Does the exemption cover a mobile home?

Yes for the property-tax exemption. La. Const. art. VII, § 20(A)(1) applies it fully to a mobile home owned and occupied as a bona fide home, even where the owner does not own the land. The exemption does not reach the land itself in that situation.

How many homestead exemptions can one household claim?

One. The constitution limits the exemption to a single homestead per owner-occupant, for the home that is the owner's domicile, and § 20(A)(2) repeats the point for spouses: "not to more than one homestead owned by either the husband or wife, or both."

Related Guides

• Louisiana Exempt Property and Family Allowance - the seizure exemptions and the marital portion alongside this one
• Louisiana Surviving Spouse Rights - how the usufruct that preserves this exemption actually works
• Louisiana Intestate Succession - who takes the house when there is no testament
• Louisiana Creditor Claims - how succession debts are handled
• Louisiana Succession Guide - how the estate moves through the district court

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Sources

• Title: La. Const. art. VII, § 20, Homestead Exemption (bona fide homestead not exceeding one hundred sixty acres; exempt to the extent of seven thousand five hundred dollars of assessed valuation; extension to a surviving spouse as owner, as usufructuary, or through a testamentary trust; mobile homes). Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature. Publication Date: Current constitution, accessed 2026-08-12. URL: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=206550
• Title: La. R.S. 20:1, Declaration of homestead; exemption from seizure and sale; debts excluded from exemption; waiver; certain proceeds from property insurance exempted (thirty-five thousand dollars of value; full value for a catastrophic or terminal illness or injury; five acres within a municipality or two hundred acres outside). Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature. Publication Date: Current official statute, accessed 2026-08-12. URL: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=81983
• Title: La. Const. art. VII, § 21, Other Property Exemptions (the separate section covering public and nonprofit property and disabled-veteran relief). Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature. Publication Date: Current constitution, accessed 2026-08-12. URL: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=206551
• Title: La. Civ. Code art. 890, Usufruct of surviving spouse. Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature. Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-08-12. URL: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=111042
• Title: La. R.S. 13:3881, General exemptions from seizure. Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature. Publication Date: Current official statute, accessed 2026-08-12. URL: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=77632

This guide is general information about Louisiana's two homestead exemptions and how they behave after a death. Which one applies, and in what amount, turns on facts specific to each home and each debt, including how title is held, whether the occupant is a usufructuary, what privileges or mortgages are recorded against the property, and the parish assessor's own procedures. It is not legal advice. For advice about a particular situation, consult a Louisiana attorney, and confirm the property-tax exemption with the assessor for the parish where the home sits.