Money & Debt · Homestead (creditor protection)
Homestead Exemption from Creditors in Michigan
How much of your home equity is shielded from a judgment creditor in Michigan, what the exemption does not stop, and how to claim it, cited to the statute.
What is protected in Michigan
The equity shielded from creditors, how it applies, and the debts it cannot stop.
| Rule | In Michigan | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Applies automatically | Yes | Michigan has no separate declared-homestead recording. The exemption applies to your principal residence by operation of law, but you must assert it in the bankruptcy case or the state-court execution proceeding. The bankruptcy figure exists only inside an actual bankruptcy filing under 11 U.S.C. 522(b)(2). |
| Married or co-owned | See note | The statute is silent on doubling the bankruptcy homestead for a married couple filing jointly. Property held by a husband and wife as a tenancy by the entirety is separately exempt under MCL 600.5451(1)(n), except against a claim based on a joint debt of both spouses. |
| Federal alternative | Bankruptcy | MCL 600.5451 is a bankruptcy-only exemption schedule enacted specifically for use under 11 U.S.C. 522(b)(2), and it does nothing outside a bankruptcy case. Against a state-court execution the separate and much smaller MCL 600.6023(1)(g) figure of $3,500 governs instead. |
| Statute | Mich. Comp. Laws § 600.5451(1)(m); § 600.6023(1)(g) | The controlling authority. Read the full text through the source link below. |
Equity protected: $51,150 in bankruptcy, but only $3,500 against a state-court execution
Michigan runs two different homestead numbers. In bankruptcy, MCL 600.5451(1)(m) exempts home equity up to $51,150, or $76,725 if the debtor or a dependent is 65 or older or disabled, for cases filed on or after April 1, 2026. The printed statutory figures of $30,000 and $45,000 are a 2004 base that the State Treasurer adjusts every three years for inflation. Against an ordinary state-court judgment creditor levying by execution, MCL 600.6023(1)(g) allows only $3,500, with no age or disability uplift and no inflation adjustment. The forum decides which number applies, and the debtor usually does not get to choose it.
Acreage limit
40 acres of land and the dwelling where the property is outside a recorded plat, city, or village, or 1 lot or parcel where it is inside one. The same limit applies to both the bankruptcy and execution homesteads.
Does not stop
The exemption does not reach a consensually given or lawfully obtained mortgage, lien, or security interest, and MCL 600.6023(1)(g) states that a lawfully obtained mortgage on the homestead is not stopped. A mortgage by a married judgment debtor generally needs the spouse’s signature unless it secures purchase money or has been recorded for 25 years with no claim of invalidity filed. Tenancy by the entirety does not protect against a joint debt of both spouses.
The bankruptcy figure is indexed. MCL 600.5451(4) directs the State Treasurer to adjust each amount every three years by the cumulative change in the Detroit-area consumer price index, rounded to the nearest $25. On January 30, 2026 the Treasurer certified a 10.89 percent change for the three years ending December 31, 2025, producing the $51,150 and $76,725 figures for cases filed on or after April 1, 2026. The next adjustment takes effect April 1, 2029. The $3,500 execution figure has no escalator and sits exactly on the constitutional floor in art. X, § 3.
HIGH for the bankruptcy figure, LOW for the execution figure. The bankruptcy numbers move on a three-year clock and the printed statute will never show the operative amount, so any page quoting $30,000 or $45,000 as current is stale. Always pull the latest Treasury notice. The $3,500 execution figure has not moved and cannot without legislation. Do not confuse either with Michigan’s property-tax Principal Residence Exemption at MCL 211.7cc, which is a different statute.
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps to protect home equity in Michigan. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Identify the forum you are in
Michigan’s protection swings on where the fight happens. In bankruptcy you can shield $51,150, or $76,725 if you or a dependent is 65 or older or disabled. Against a state-court execution the figure is only $3,500.
- Pull the current Treasury notice
The bankruptcy figure is adjusted every three years and the printed statute is always out of date. Use the amount for your filing date from the Department of Treasury notice, not the number in the statute.
- Check how you hold title
Property held as a tenancy by the entirety is separately exempt except against a joint debt of both spouses, which can matter more than the dollar figure for a married couple.
- Get Michigan help before a forced sale
A bankruptcy or consumer attorney, or Michigan Legal Help, can explain which homestead figure applies to your situation and how to claim it.
If a creditor is threatening your home, you can check how the exemption applies and how to claim it. This resource explains your rights.
→ Michigan Legal HelpThis is general legal information, not legal advice. Liens, bankruptcy choices, and local rules can change how the exemption applies to your home.
What people get wrong in Michigan
First, the distinction that trips up almost everyone: this is the homestead exemption that shields your home’s equity from creditors, not the property-tax Principal Residence Exemption that also uses the word homestead. Michigan’s creditor exemption has a twist no other state here shares: there are two completely different numbers, and which one applies depends on where the fight is happening. In bankruptcy, MCL 600.5451(1)(m) protects $51,150 of home equity, or $76,725 if the debtor or a dependent is 65 or older or disabled, for cases filed on or after April 1, 2026. That figure is inflation indexed and rises every three years, so the $30,000 printed in the statute has not been the real number since 2013. But against an ordinary state-court judgment creditor levying by execution, MCL 600.6023(1)(g) collapses the protection to $3,500, with no elderly uplift and no indexing. That is not a typo. The same house and the same equity can be protected fifteen times more generously in federal bankruptcy court than against a state-court execution, and the debtor usually does not get to choose the forum. Both regimes share a 40-acre rural or single-lot urban limit, and neither one defeats a mortgage you signed or a lawfully obtained lien.
Common questions
How much home equity is protected from creditors in Michigan?
It depends on the forum. In bankruptcy, MCL 600.5451(1)(m) protects $51,150, or $76,725 if the debtor or a dependent is 65 or older or disabled, for cases filed on or after April 1, 2026. Against a state-court judgment execution, MCL 600.6023(1)(g) protects only $3,500.
Why does Michigan have two homestead numbers?
MCL 600.5451 is a modern bankruptcy-only schedule with a built-in inflation escalator, while MCL 600.6023 is the far older general execution statute that never got one. Michigan quietly runs both regimes side by side, so protection is generous in bankruptcy and close to nominal against a state-court execution.
Is the Michigan homestead exemption adjusted for inflation?
The bankruptcy figure is. MCL 600.5451(4) has the State Treasurer adjust it every three years by the Detroit-area consumer price index. The $3,500 execution figure in MCL 600.6023 has no escalator and sits exactly on the 1963 constitutional floor. Always pull the latest Treasury notice for the bankruptcy amount.
Is there an acreage limit on the Michigan homestead?
Yes. The homestead covers up to 40 acres and the dwelling outside a recorded plat, city, or village, or up to 1 lot or parcel inside one. The same limit applies to both the bankruptcy and execution homesteads.
Does the Michigan homestead exemption stop a mortgage foreclosure?
No. It does not reach a consensually given or lawfully obtained mortgage, lien, or security interest. A mortgage by a married judgment debtor generally needs the spouse’s signature to be valid for homestead purposes, but a valid mortgage can still be foreclosed despite the homestead.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.