Ingebretsen

Plaintiffs and appellants Wayne A. and Ann M. Ingebretsen appeal from an order of the San Francisco Superior Court to sell homestead and issue writ of execution against a dwelling house in which the homestead exemption was determined to be $40,000. We believe this exemption to be the correct one and so affirm the order.

Facts

On August 6, 1976, a default judgment was entered against defendant and respondent Ralph Edwin McNamer (hereafter respondent) for the wrongful death of appellants’ 11-year-old son 2 years earlier. Total damages awarded were $66,050.

According to the record, no effort was made to satisfy the judgment until October 26, 1979, when a writ of execution was levied on respondent’s homestead. Changes in Civil Code section 1245, effective January 1,1980, required appellants to take additional procedural steps before the order to sell was issued September 4, 1980. Respondent’s property was appraised that year at $125,000.

At the time respondent declared his homestead and at the time judgment for appellants was entered, the statutory homestead exemption was $20,000. (Stats. 1970, ch. 319, § 1, p. 714.) In 1977, the exemption was increased to $30,000 (Stats.…