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North Dakota Exempt Property and Homestead
Support GuideNorth Dakota15 min read

North Dakota Exempt Property and Homestead

North Dakota exempt property is up to $15,000 of household goods and vehicles, beside the homestead estate a surviving spouse holds.

By Settled Editorial

North Dakota protects a surviving family in two ways during probate: up to $15,000 of exempt property under NDCC 30.1-07-01, counted net of any loan on the items, and the homestead, the home the decedent lived in, worth up to $150,000 over liens under NDCC 47-18-01. The surviving spouse keeps possession and income of that homestead for life or until remarriage (NDCC 30-16-02), and most of the decedent's debts cannot reach it.

This guide covers both: what each is worth, who takes it, how liens are handled, which creditors can still reach the house, what the personal representative has to do, and how the protections stack with the will and the elective share. The third protection in the same chapter has its own page: the family allowance. This is general information about North Dakota law.

No Dollar Homestead Allowance, a Homestead Estate Instead

Here is the part that out-of-state sources get wrong. Most Uniform Probate Code states give the spouse a fixed cash homestead allowance. North Dakota does not. Chapter 30.1-07 holds four sections (30.1-07-00.1 through 30.1-07-03), and none of them sets a homestead allowance figure. North Dakota kept its older system instead, which protects the house itself.

ProtectionStatuteAmountWho takes itAgainst creditors
Exempt propertyNDCC 30.1-07-01Up to $15,000 above security interestsSurviving spouse; if none, minor and supported children jointlyPriority over all claims
HomesteadNDCC 47-18-01Up to $150,000 in value over liens and encumbrancesWhoever takes title, subject to the homestead estateExempt from the decedent's debts except the listed ones (30-16-03, 30-16-04)
Homestead estateNDCC 30-16-01(2), 30-16-02Possession, use, control, income and rents of the homesteadSurviving spouse for life or until remarriage; then minor children until the youngest reaches majorityRides with the homestead's exemption
Family allowanceNDCC 30.1-07-02, 30.1-07-03Reasonable; a personal representative may set up to $27,000 lump sum or $2,250 a month for one yearSpouse and supported childrenPriority over claims

Some North Dakota sections, such as 30.1-07-02 and 30.1-05-01(3), still use the uniform code's phrase "homestead allowance". No section of Title 30.1 puts a dollar figure on it, so do not rely on a cash homestead allowance figure from another state.

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The $15,000 Exempt Property Right

NDCC 30.1-07-01 opens with "In addition to the homestead defined in section 47-18-01". It entitles the surviving spouse to a value from the estate, not exceeding $15,000 in excess of any security interests, in:

  • household furniture
  • automobiles
  • furnishings
  • appliances
  • personal effects

Three rules decide who takes it and how.

  • With no surviving spouse, only some children share it. The right passes jointly to the decedent's minor children whom the decedent was obligated to support and to children who were in fact being supported by the decedent. A self-supporting adult child takes no share.
  • It comes ahead of creditors. The right to exempt property, and to assets that make up a shortfall, "have priority over all claims against the estate."
  • It is on top of the inheritance. The right is in addition to any share passing by the will, unless the will provides otherwise, by intestate succession, or by elective share.

Liens Come Off First, Then the Estate Fills the Gap

The $15,000 counts equity: the value left after the loan. Say the spouse selects a truck and the furniture:

ItemValueLienCounts toward $15,000
Truck$20,000$14,000$6,000
Furniture$4,000none$4,000
Total$10,000

The spouse is $5,000 short. Under 30.1-07-01, when the equity in selected items plus other exempt property is less than $15,000, or the estate does not hold $15,000 of qualifying property, the spouse or children take "other assets of the estate, if any" to make up the difference. That make-up right abates as needed so the family allowance is paid first.

The Homestead: What It Covers

NDCC 47-18-01 defines the homestead of any person residing in North Dakota, married or unmarried, as:

  • the land the claimant resides on
  • the dwelling house on that land where the claimant resides
  • its appurtenances and all other improvements on the land

The total may not exceed $150,000 in value, over and above liens or encumbrances. Separate lots or tracts count only if they are contiguous, meaning they share a common point or would but for a road or right of way. The homestead is exempt from judgment liens and from execution or forced sale except as chapter 47-18 provides.

No paperwork is needed to claim it. A person may record a declaration of homestead under 47-18-18, but 47-18-17 says "A failure to make such declaration shall not impair the homestead right."

2023 Senate Bill 2206 is the most recent act to amend 47-18-01 and 47-18-04.

The Homestead Estate: The Spouse Keeps the House

When the owner of a homestead dies, NDCC 30-16-02 says a homestead estate survives. Section 30-16-01(2) defines it as "the right to the possession, use, control, income, and rents of the real property held or occupied by the decedent as a homestead at death." It is set over in this order:

  1. The surviving spouse, for life or until the spouse remarries.
  2. With no surviving spouse, the decedent's minor child or children, until the youngest reaches majority.
  3. If the spouse dies first while a child is still a minor, the minor children take it from that death until the youngest reaches majority.

The title is a separate question. Under 30-16-04 the land descends subject to the homestead estate, passing the way other real property passes or as the will directs. A will may leave the homestead to anyone, but only subject to the homestead estate and the payment of debts (47-18-29). And until all the decedent's debts are paid, 30-16-04 bars the homestead from descending to anyone other than the surviving spouse and heirs in the direct descending line.

Here is what that means for a family. A will that leaves the house to a sibling does not move the surviving spouse out. The sibling takes title subject to the spouse's right to live there and collect any rent until death or remarriage.

A married owner's homestead needs both signatures. Under 47-18-05, a married person's homestead cannot be conveyed or encumbered unless both spouses execute and acknowledge the instrument, whatever the property is worth.

Which Creditors Can Still Reach the House

NDCC 30-16-03 says the homestead "shall not be subject to the payment of any debt or liability" existing against either spouse at the time of death, with two sets of exceptions.

The 47-18-04 liabilities, which bind a homestead even during life:

  • debts secured by mechanics', construction or laborers' liens for work or material that improved it
  • a mortgage on the premises signed and acknowledged by both spouses, or by an unmarried owner
  • debts for its purchase, and taxes levied on it
  • any other debt, but only to the extent an appraisal shows the value exceeds the liens plus $150,000

The 30-16-04 claims, which follow the land after death:

  • county general assistance
  • general assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services
  • state claims for repayment of old-age assistance and aid to the permanently and totally disabled

Medicaid is a separate question. NDCC 50-24.1-07 gives the Department of Health and Human Services a preferred claim for medical assistance against a recipient's estate, and on the death of the recipient's spouse. The 30-16-04 list does not name medical assistance. If the decedent or the spouse received Medicaid, ask a North Dakota attorney how the two statutes apply to the house before distributing it.

Value Over $150,000

The cap protects the family's equity up to $150,000. Say the home is worth $240,000 with a $60,000 mortgage. Equity is $180,000, so $30,000 sits above the limit.

  • The personal representative sets the homestead off to exclude the excess where the land can be divided without material injury (30-16-05).
  • If it cannot be divided, the court's order setting the homestead apart fixes the amount of the excess. That excess may then be applied to debts, but only "after all of the other available property has been exhausted" (30-16-09).

What the Personal Representative Does

NDCC 30-16-05 gives the personal representative specific homestead duties:

  1. Get a description of the property from the people it descended to.
  2. Appraise it at its value on the date of death.
  3. Have a surveyor mark the boundaries, if necessary.
  4. Adjust the boundaries if the selection would materially reduce the value of the rest of the land, and set off any value above the legal limit.
  5. Write a full report of the findings and annex it to the inventory.

After the owner's death, the homestead is ascertained and set apart on the selection of the people entitled to possession (30-16-03). If it was already set off to the decedent during life, it is not ascertained again. A court decree setting apart the homestead estate names each minor child and the date each reaches majority (30-16-08).

For exempt property, NDCC 30.1-07-03 sets the selection rules:

  • The family picks first. The surviving spouse, the guardians of minor children, or adult children may select estate property as exempt property.
  • The personal representative steps in if they are unable or fail to select within a reasonable time, or a minor child has no guardian.
  • Specific gifts are protected. If the estate is otherwise sufficient, property the will leaves as a specific gift may not be used for exempt property.
  • Paperwork. The personal representative may sign an instrument or deed of distribution to establish ownership of the property taken.
  • Disputes go to the district court. The personal representative or any interested person aggrieved by a selection or a failure to act may petition the court.

How These Protections Stack

  • Will and intestacy. Exempt property is in addition to anything passing by the will, unless the will provides otherwise, and to an intestate share (30.1-07-01). The intestate succession guide covers the spouse's share without a will.
  • Elective share. NDCC 30.1-05-01(3) says that when the spouse elects, exempt property and the family allowance "are not charged against, but are in addition to" the elective share of 50 percent of the augmented estate and the supplemental amount. The guide to every protection a surviving spouse has covers the election.
  • Transfer on death deeds. If the probate estate cannot pay a statutory allowance to a surviving spouse or child, the estate may enforce it against property that passed by a transfer on death deed. The proceeding must start within 18 months after the death (30.1-32.1-12).
  • Small estates. Under 30.1-23-03, if the inventory shows the entire estate, less liens, does not exceed the 47-18-01 homestead plus exempt property, the family allowance, administration costs, reasonable funeral expenses and last-illness medical costs, the personal representative may distribute at once without notice to creditors. That route still needs an appointed personal representative and an inventory.
  • Creditors. Exempt property and the homestead sit outside the claim order in 30.1-19-05. See how this sits against creditors.

Which State's Law Applies

Chapter 30.1-07 applies to a decedent who dies domiciled in North Dakota. For a decedent domiciled elsewhere, the rights to exempt property and the family allowance are governed by the law of the domicile at death (30.1-07-00.1). A North Dakota ancillary proceeding for an out-of-state owner follows the home state's allowance rules.

What to Document

  • A list of the items selected as exempt property, with a value for each and the lender and balance on any loan.
  • The arithmetic showing the equity total and any shortfall taken from other assets.
  • Who selected, and when. If the personal representative selected, a note that the family did not act within a reasonable time.
  • A deed or instrument of distribution for titled items such as vehicles.
  • The homestead description, date-of-death appraisal and report annexed to the inventory (30-16-05).
  • For children, each child's age and whether the decedent supported the child, since that decides who shares exempt property and the homestead estate.

When to Call a North Dakota Attorney

  • The home is worth more than $150,000 over the mortgage and cannot be divided.
  • A will leaves the house to someone other than the surviving spouse.
  • The decedent or the surviving spouse received Medicaid.
  • Family members disagree over which items were selected as exempt property.
  • The surviving spouse plans to remarry, sell or mortgage the home during administration.

Related Guides

Sources:

This guide summarizes North Dakota exempt property and the homestead from the North Dakota Century Code as the Legislative Council published it on 2026-09-28. Confirm how they apply to a specific estate with the district court handling the estate or with a licensed North Dakota attorney. It is not legal advice.

Information current as of September 28, 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 North Dakota can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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