Pearson

Spencer v. Lowery (1991) 235 Cal.App.3d 1636 [ 1 Cal.Rptr.2d 795 ] holds that the automatic homestead exemption afforded by subdivision (b) of section 704.720 of the Code of Civil Procedure does not apply to the proceeds of a trustee’s sale under a power of sale in a deed of trust because a trustee’s sale is not based on a money judgment within the meaning of the Enforcement of Judgments Law (Code Civ. Proc., § 680.010 et seq). Relying on subdivision (c) of section 704.950 (which applies only to a declared homestead), Smith v. James A. Merrill, Inc. (1998) 64 Cal.App.4th 94 [ 75 Cal.Rptr.2d 108 ] reaches the opposite conclusion with regard to a declared homestead. The dispute before us is about the allocation of a post-trustee’s-sale surplus fund, with a property owner who had recorded a declared homestead challenging the trial court’s refusal to acknowledge his homestead. We reverse.

FACTS

A.

In October 1997, Heritage Rehabilitation Center sued Alvin Pearson and his mother for money owed for nursing services. According to the allegations against Pearson, his mother had transferred her South Hobart Street residence to him without valuable consideration, and Pearson had…