It's called a Declaration of Homestead, and many homeowners have never heard about such a thing.

This legal document has been around for decades to protect homeowners from losing their primary residence to most creditors' claims, but it's a homeowner's option so old-fashioned it often gets overlooked, forgotten or unmentioned during real estate transactions.

The single-page document costs less than $12 to fill out and to register with your local county clerk and recorder's office, and these days, it is considered a prudent thing to do, said Zane Sullivan, a Missoula attorney who is a real estate law expert and has been educating real estate professionals on this topic for 30-some years.

"In Montana, the concept for this is the same as in many states - that individual households have a certain amount of assets that are protected from judgment creditors or predatory claims, because if they were not, those households would ultimately end up with nothing, be forced on welfare and become burdens to taxpayers," he said. "The idea is that there should be something for a family or a way for an individual to protect basic asset value."

A homestead is defined as a person's primary home and the land it sits on - no matter the size - and Montanans are protected up to $250,000 in value against most judgment creditor's claims, Sullivan said. If the value exceeds that amount, creditors may partition the land, selling part of it or all of it.

Filing a homestead exemption declaration won't protect homeowners from having their homes foreclosed upon because they can't make mortgage payments, or from construction liens and Medicaid liens, Sullivan said, but it will protect homeowners in other unfortunate claims.

For example, if you are involved in a costly automobile accident and have no car insurance and a court finds you at fault, your house can't be taken from you to pay the damages if your equity is $250,000 or less, Sullivan said.

Although a homestead declaration doesn't offer a broad shield of protection, it is something that is advisable to file, he said.

"It is such an easy thing to do, and if you happen to hit that situation where it applies, it is extremely valuable," he said.

Not many homeowners are aware of the document, because filing wasn't fashionable, Sullivan said.

In decades past, and as recently as early 2000, when someone filed a homestead declaration, it typically signified that they were in financial trouble and that things were about to get really rocky.

"It used to mean somebody was up against the wall, but now that's completely changed, and a filing of a homestead declaration is good prudent practice."

That advice is slowly getting out to homeowners, thanks in part to local lending institutions who are reminding homeowners of the option as they take advantage of current low home interest rates to refinance their property or buy a new home.

That boom is seen in the Missoula County Clerk and Recorder's Office, where there's been an uptick in people who have filed the paperwork, said Debbe Merseal, deputy chief in the office.

In 2008, 307 declarations were filed during the time period from Jan. 1 to Aug. 18. During the same period in 2009, 413 were filed.

Venturing a guess about the increased filings, Merseal said: "I believe it is because of the economic times that we have. We have had a dramatic increase in the number of notices of trustees sales (the first step in the path to home foreclosures) and I think the homestead declaration filings go hand in hand with that."

Sullivan believes the trend is directly related to the economic recession.

"People are struggling to make payments and make ends meet and have financial problems coming at them from all directions," he said. "My personal observation of life is that nowadays that many people are unable to work their way out of difficult financial situations and predatory claims or judgment claims may be higher than in years past."

Whatever the reason, he said, it doesn't take a lot of time or effort for a homeowner to fill out the form, get it notarized and filed. "It could save people a lot of heartache," he said.

Reporter Betsy Cohen can be reached at bcohen@missoulian.com.