Spousal Homestead

Requirements

To qualify for homestead classification, you must:

  • Be a Minnesota resident.
  • Be one of the owners of the property listed on the application.
  • Occupy the property listed on the application as your primary residence.

If a property is occupied by a married owner, the owner's spouse may not claim another property as a homestead unless the spouse does not occupy the house due to one of the following reasons:

  • Marriage dissolution proceedings are pending.
  • The spouses are legally separated.
  • The spouse's employment or self-employment location requires the spouse to have a separate homestead. In this case, both of the following conditions must be met:
    • The distance between the homesteads must be at least 50 miles.
    • The distance between the places of employment or self-employment must be at least 50 miles.
  • There are other personal circumstances causing the spouses to live separately, not including intent to obtain two homestead classifications for property tax purposes.

Required Materials

The assessor may require proof of:

  • Distances between each homestead
  • Distances between places of employment
  • Employment or self-employment
  • Employment or self-employment location
  • Marriage dissolution proceedings or legal separation

Applications

To obtain an application, please call the assessor's office at (507) 375-1205 or stop by the assessor's office in the Watonwan County Courthouse:
710 Second Avenue S
St. James, MN 56081

Note

Applications must be submitted by December 31st.