Second Substitute H.B. 198

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AMENDMENTS TO HOMESTEAD EXEMPTIONS
2 1997 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Sponsor: John L. Valentine
5 AN ACT RELATING TO THE JUDICIAL CODE; AMENDING THE HOMESTEAD
6 EXEMPTION; PROVIDING FOR PROPERTY EXEMPT FROM EXECUTION; AND
7 MAKING TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.
8 This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
9 AMENDS:
10 78-23-3, as last amended by Chapter 142, Laws of Utah 1990
11 78-23-5, as last amended by Chapter 19, Laws of Utah 1989
12 78-23-8, as enacted by Chapter 111, Laws of Utah 1981
13 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
14 Section 1. Section 78-23-3 is amended to read:
15 78-23-3. Homestead exemption -- Excepted obligations -- Water rights and interests
16 -- Conveyance of homestead -- Sale and disposition of homestead -- Property right for federal
17 tax purposes.
18 (1) [A] (a) An individual is entitled to a homestead exemption consisting of property in
19 this state [shall be exempt] in an amount not exceeding [$8,000 in value for a head of family,
20 $2,000 in value for a spouse, and $500 in value for each other dependent] $10,000 in value if the
21 property claimed is the primary personal residence of the individual.
22 (b) If the property claimed as exempt is jointly owned, each joint owner is entitled to a
23 homestead exemption h [, ] ; h however h , h for property exempt under Subsection (1)(a), the
23a maximum
24 exemption may not exceed $20,000.
25 (c) For purposes of this Subsection (1), "primary personal residence" means a dwelling
26 or mobile home and the land surrounding it, not exceeding one acre, as is reasonably necessary for
27 the use of the dwelling or mobile home, in which the individual and the individual's household

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1 reside.
2 (d) A person may claim a homestead [may be claimed] exemption in [either or both of the
3 following: (a)] one or more parcels of real property together with appurtenances and
4 improvements[; or (b) a mobile home in which the claimant resides].
5 (2) A homestead [shall be] is exempt from judicial lien and from levy, execution, or forced
6 sale[,] except [upon the following obligations] for:
7 (a) statutory liens for property taxes and assessments on the property;
8 (b) security interests in the property and judicial liens for debts created for the purchase
9 price of [such] the property; [and]
10 (c) judicial liens obtained on debts created by failure to provide support or maintenance
11 for dependent children[.]; and
12 (d) consensual liens obtained on debts created by mutual contract.
13 [(3) The term "head of family" includes a single individual with or without dependents or
14 a husband or wife when the claimant is married; but in no case are both husband and wife entitled
15 each to claim a homestead except as otherwise provided by this chapter.]
16 [(4) Water] (3) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (b), water rights and interests, either
17 in the form of corporate stock or otherwise, owned by the homestead claimant [shall be] are
18 exempt from execution to the extent that [such] those rights and interests are necessarily employed
19 in supplying water to the homestead for domestic and irrigating purposes[; but such].
20 (b) Those water rights and interests [shall] are not [be] exempt from calls or assessments
21 and sale by the corporations issuing the stock.
22 [(5)] (4) (a) When a homestead is conveyed by the owner of the property, the conveyance
23 [shall] may not subject the property to any lien to which it would not be subject in the hands of the
24 owner[; and the].
25 (b) The proceeds of any sale, to the amount of the exemption existing at the time of sale,
26 [shall be] is exempt from levy, execution, or other process for one year after the receipt of the
27 proceeds by the person entitled to the exemption.
28 [(6) If the homestead claimant is married, the homestead may be selected from the separate
29 property of the husband, or with the consent of the wife from her separate property.]
30 [(7) A] (5) The sale and disposition of one homestead [shall] does not prevent the
31 selection or purchase of another.

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1 [(8)] (6) For purposes of any claim or action for taxes brought by the United States Internal
2 Revenue Service, a homestead exemption claimed on real property in this state is considered to
3 be a property right.
4 Section 2. Section 78-23-5 is amended to read:
5 78-23-5. Property exempt from execution.
6 (1) (a) An individual is entitled to exemption of the following property:
7 [(a)] (i) a burial plot for the individual and his family;
8 [(b)] (ii) health aids reasonably necessary to enable the individual or a dependent to work
9 or sustain health;
10 [(c)] (iii) benefits the individual or his dependent have received or are entitled to receive
11 [by reason] because of disability, illness, or unemployment from any source;
12 [(d)] (iv) benefits paid or payable for medical, surgical, or hospital care to the extent they
13 are used by an individual or his dependent to pay for [such] that care;
14 [(e)] (v) veterans benefits;
15 [(f)] (vi) money or property received, and rights to receive money or property for child
16 support;
17 [(g)] (vii) one clothes washer and dryer, one refrigerator, one freezer, one stove, one
18 microwave oven, one sewing machine, all carpets in use, provisions sufficient for [three] 12
19 months actually provided for individual or family use, all wearing apparel of every individual and
20 dependent, not including jewelry or furs, and all beds and bedding for every individual or
21 dependent;
22 [(h)] (viii) works of art depicting the debtor or the debtor and his resident family, or
23 produced by the debtor or the debtor and his resident family, except works of art held by the debtor
24 as part of a trade or business;
25 [(i)] (ix) proceeds of insurance, a judgment, or a settlement, or other rights accruing as a
26 result of bodily injury of the individual or of the wrongful death or bodily injury of another
27 individual of whom the individual was or is a dependent to the extent that [such] those proceeds
28 are compensatory;
29 [(j)] (x) except as provided in Subsection (b), any money or other assets held for or
30 payable to the individual as a participant or beneficiary from or an interest of the individual as a
31 participant or beneficiary in a retirement plan or arrangement [which] that is described in

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1 [Sections] Section 401(a), 401(h), 401(k), 403(a), 403(b), 408, 409, 414(d), or 414(e) of the United
2 States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended[. This exemption shall not apply:]; and
3 [(i) to an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order, as those terms are
4 defined in Section 414(p) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; or]
5 [(ii) to amounts contributed or benefits accrued by or on behalf of a debtor within 180 days
6 before the debtor files for bankruptcy; or]
7 [(iii) to the assets of bankruptcy proceedings filed before January 1, 1989;]
8 [(k)] (xi) the interest of or any money or other assets payable to an alternate payee under
9 a qualified domestic relations order as those terms are defined in Section 414(p) of the United
10 States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
11 (b) The exemption granted by Subsection (1)(a)(x) does not apply to:
12 (i) an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order, as those terms are defined
13 in Section 414(p) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; or
14 (ii) amounts contributed or benefits accrued by or on behalf of a debtor within one year
15 before the debtor files for bankruptcy.
16 (2) Exemptions under this section do not limit items which may be claimed as exempt
17 under Section 78-23-8.
18 Section 3. Section 78-23-8 is amended to read:
19 78-23-8. Value of exempt property -- Exemption of implements, professional books,
20 tools, and motor vehicle.
21 (1) An individual is entitled to exemption of the following property up to an aggregate
22 value of items in each [subparagraph] subsection of $500:
23 (a) sofas, chairs, and related furnishings [and appliances] reasonably necessary for one
24 household;
25 (b) dining and kitchen tables and chairs reasonably necessary for one household;
26 [(b)] (c) animals, books, and musical instruments, if reasonably held for the personal use
27 of the individual or his dependents; and
28 [(c) an heirloom] (d) heirlooms or other [item] items of particular sentimental value to the
29 individual.
30 (2) An individual is entitled to an exemption, not exceeding $3,500 in aggregate value, of
31 implements, professional books, or tools of [the] his trade [of the individual, all having an

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1 aggregate value not exceeding $1,500; and one motor vehicle having a value not exceeding
2 $1,500].
3 (3) An individual is entitled to an exemption, not exceeding $2,500 in value, of one motor
4 vehicle where such motor vehicle is used for the claimant's business or profession. Business or
5 professional use of a motor vehicle does not include transportation to and from a claimant's place
6 of work or business.
7 [(3)] (4) This section does not affect property exempt under Section 78-23-5.

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