Concord, NH – Attorney General John M. Formella urges consumers to be aware that the New Hampshire Supreme Court has issued an opinion limiting the application of New Hampshire the homestead exemption to title owners of real property and precluding its application and protection to a non-owning spouse.

The Court held, if a married couple both live in the family home but only one spouse's name is on the title to the property, the non-owning spouse is not entitled to his or her own present, non-contingent homestead right worth $120,000 in the property; he or she instead holds a shared interest in the owner's $120,000 homestead. In so holding, the Court rejected the State's position that a non-owning, occupying spouse possesses a statutorily-created occupancy interest in the homestead sufficient to entitle him or her to an independent homestead right worth $120,000.

The State intervened in the case on behalf of all New Hampshire consumers arguing the Court should interpret the statute broadly, consistent with its historical application and purpose to protect consumers. The family home is often the largest and most important asset of New Hampshire families, and the exemption should be broadly construed to afford the maximum protection of the family home. This decision alters the legal landscape, as it runs counter to what many consumer practitioners in the State had long understood the law to be.

This decision will likely have a broad, adverse impact on the ability of New Hampshire consumers to obtain a fresh start through bankruptcy and may endanger home ownership for married consumers outside of bankruptcy with debts they cannot pay if there is equity in their home.

"The purpose of the homestead exemption is to ensure family stability and to shield the family, and our society, from the consequences of homelessness. It is difficult to see how a single $120,000 exemption is capable of offering that protection today to New Hampshire's families," said Attorney General Formella. "I would therefore encourage the Legislature to accept the Court's invitation to amend the statute to restore these critical protections and clarify that both spouses are entitled to their own homestead right in the family home as long as one spouse is the title owner of the property."

The New Hampshire Department of Justice's Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau investigates and prosecutes unfair and deceptive business practices against New Hampshire consumers. To file a complaint with the New Hampshire Department of Justice, call the Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-888-468-4454 or file a complaint online at: https://www.doj.nh.gov/consumer/complaints.