Washington § 6.13.040 - Automatic homestead exemption — Conditions — Declaration of homestead — Declaration of abandonment.

(1) Property described in RCW 6.13.010 constitutes a homestead and is automatically protected by the exemption described in RCW 6.13.070 from and after the time the real or personal property is occupied as a principal residence by the owner or, if the homestead is unimproved or improved land that is not yet occupied as a homestead, from and after the declaration or declarations required by the following subsections are filed for record or, if the homestead is a mobile home not yet occupied as a homestead and located on land not owned by the owner of the mobile home, from and after delivery of a declaration as prescribed in RCW 6.15.060(3)(c) or, if the homestead is any other personal property, from and after the delivery of a declaration as prescribed in RCW 6.15.060(3)(d).

(2) An owner who selects a homestead from unimproved or improved land that is not yet occupied as a homestead must execute a declaration of homestead and file the same for record in the office of the recording officer in the county in which the land is located. However, if the owner also owns another parcel of property on which the owner presently resides or in which the owner claims a homestead, the owner must also execute a declaration of abandonment of homestead on that other property and file the same for record with the recording officer in the county in which the land is located.

(3) The declaration of homestead must contain:

(a) A statement that the person making it is residing on the premises or intends to reside thereon and claims them as a homestead;

(b) A legal description of the premises; and

(c) An estimate of their actual cash value.

(4) The declaration of abandonment must contain:

(a) A statement that premises occupied as a residence or claimed as a homestead no longer constitute the owner's homestead;

(b) A legal description of the premises; and

(c) A statement of the date of abandonment.

(5) The declaration of homestead and declaration of abandonment of homestead must be acknowledged in the same manner as a grant of real property is acknowledged.

Severability—1981 c 329: See note following RCW 6.21.020.