Aguirre v. Elko County Sheriff’s Office, 138 Nev, Adv. Op. 32 (May 5, 2022)

In an opinion drafted by Justice Cadish, the Court considered whether Nevada’s homestead exemption protects real property from civil forfeiture and whether an incarcerated individual who records a homestead declaration while serving their prison sentence qualifies as a bona fide resident of the homestead property. Aguirre asserted that he recorded his homestead declaration before any final process occurred in the forfeiture cause of action against him, thus having his declaration preempt the forfeiture. The district court dismissed the appellant’s argument, rationalizing that the appellant did not comply with the residency requirement because he made his homestead declarations while he was incarcerated. However, the Court held that there is no forfeiture exception to the homestead exemption, stating that incarcerated individuals may still qualify as residents for purposes of the homestead exemption. Here, the Court concluded that the appellant’s declaration complied with NRS 115.020, finding that the district court erred in entering a judgment of forfeiture