Bill > H1535

This bill amends Section 3 of Chapter 188 of the General Laws, which pertains to the Homestead Act, by adding a new subsection (7). This new provision clarifies that the homestead exemption, which protects a person's primary residence from certain creditors, does not apply to tort liabilities (civil wrongs that cause harm) if the cause of action, meaning the event that led to the legal claim, occurred *before* the individual acquired their estate of homestead. In simpler terms, if someone is sued for a wrong they committed before they owned their home as their primary residence, they cannot use the homestead exemption to shield that home from being used to satisfy the judgment in that lawsuit.