§ 487.025.Homestead

Title 6.5. Attachment · Chapter 7. Property Subject to Attachment · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026

In one sentenceSection 487.025 lets a plaintiff attach a declared homestead regardless of when the declaration was recorded, but the resulting lien reaches only the surplus above existing liens and the homestead exemption amount in § 704.730.

Full Text of § 487.025

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d)

(a) The recording of a homestead declaration (as defined in Section 704.910) does not limit or affect the right of a plaintiff to attach the declared homestead described in the homestead declaration, whether the homestead declaration is recorded before or after the declared homestead is attached.

(b) An attachment lien attaches to a homestead (as defined in Section 704.710) in the amount of any surplus over the total of the following:

(1) All liens and encumbrances on the homestead at the time the attachment lien is created.

(2) The homestead exemption set forth in Section 704.730.

(c) Nothing in subdivision (a) or (b) limits the right of the defendant to an exemption under subdivision (b) of Section 487.020.

(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), a homestead (as defined in Section 704.710) is exempt from sale to the extent provided in Section 704.800 when it is sought to be sold to enforce the judgment obtained in the action in which the attachment was obtained.

Plain-English Summary

Recording a homestead declaration does not shield the property from attachment. § 487.025(a) says so directly: the plaintiff's right to attach a declared homestead is unaffected whether the declaration was recorded before or after the property was attached.

What the plaintiff gets, though, is limited. Under (b), an attachment lien reaches a homestead only in the amount of any surplus left over after subtracting two things: every lien and encumbrance already on the homestead when the attachment lien is created, and the homestead exemption amount set in § 704.730.

Neither provision cuts into the separate support-based exemption in § 487.020(b), which (c) preserves in full. And even where a surplus lien attaches, (d) keeps the homestead exempt from an actual forced sale to the extent § 704.800 provides, when that sale is sought to enforce the judgment obtained in this same action.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does recording a homestead declaration stop a creditor from attaching the home?

No. § 487.025(a) says recording the declaration does not limit or affect the plaintiff's right to attach the declared homestead.

How much of the homestead's value can an attachment lien reach?

Only the surplus left after subtracting existing liens and encumbrances and the § 704.730 homestead exemption amount.

Can the homestead be sold to satisfy the judgment?

Only to the extent § 704.800 allows, even where an attachment lien has attached to a surplus under this section.

Amendment History

Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 1198, Sec. 47.5. Operative July 1, 1983, by Sec. 70 of Ch. 1198.

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature. Last verified July 28, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: can you attach a homestead in californiahomestead exemption attachment lien CCP 487.025