Updated September 3, 2026. Quick answer: $200,000 aggregate equity in a principal residence, but only "in any federal bankruptcy or state insolvency proceeding." Delaware’s ordinary, non-bankruptcy execution statute (§ 4901) allows real estate to be seized and sold on judgment and execution, and the everyday personal-property exemption list (§§ 4902-4903) contains no homestead line at all.
Delaware’s $200,000 figure is a bankruptcy exemption, not a general homestead exemption. It protects home equity inside a federal bankruptcy or state insolvency proceeding. Outside those proceedings, Delaware’s execution chapter sets no homestead exemption at all: § 4901 allows real estate to be seized and sold on judgment and execution, and the exemption sections that follow it cover only personal property. So the $200,000 is not directly comparable to the amounts other states protect against an everyday judgment creditor.
This is protection against an ordinary money judgment creditor under 10 Del. C. § 4914(b)-(e), a different question from a property tax bill or exemption, which this page does not cover.
How it works in Delaware
- Filing rule not addressed in the cited source. Confirm with a local attorney or your county recorder before relying on this being automatic.
- Married couples and joint owners: The $200,000 cap applies once per case (not once per spouse) even in a joint bankruptcy case.
What it does not protect against
The exemption can be denied entirely if a bankruptcy court finds the debt arose from securities-law violations, fiduciary fraud, or a criminal act or wilful/reckless misconduct that caused serious injury or death within the preceding 5 years.
Read it yourself
Verbatim from 10 Del. C. § 4914(b)-(e): “In any federal bankruptcy or state insolvency proceeding, an individual debtor and/or such individual’s spouse domiciled in Delaware shall be authorized to exempt from the bankruptcy or insolvency estate… (1) Equity in real property or equity in a manufactured home… which constitutes a debtor’s principal residence in an aggregate amount not to exceed $200,000.” Read the full official text before relying on any figure here. Exemption law is fact-specific, and this is a source-backed planning guide, not individualized legal advice.