Case Information
*1 OFFICE OF THE All-ORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS AUSTIN Honorablr Hoa*t L. MOlrn
county Attorarl
Mmlrr Count7 Ehorlrr, Tuar /A Dear Sir1
aaaary JO, 1940, rrhloh road8
the ainrral and at when rroh rrtoll, ham an an thrrr thousand that thir trzpqrr lltrr of land elrlmla& suoh a# and t&t itr homartrad ohar- in lrrrur. Thrrr 18 ma0 not upon 8aid traot whleh i8 andrr 011 and gar lraar, Tar l om reamon t&a owner (who own8 both alarrrl other the ruriaaa rrntlrrrd and surfaor rrtstsr) in thr traot rrpsrrtql~ r0narrra matr *2 gonorabla Horer L. Yoee, page 2
tha rInera1 Intareet *hIoh ha owned br- lon&ng traot separately or along to this with alneral Iat~rrata balonging to othar traota than this hoaeateaa parorl. &oh taxpafrr indata that ha 18 antltled to the. l xa aptlon aroreeaia frcia tha l 88q88ra ralaa of tha mineral lntareat iurfaor aatsta in thr traot, thou both wara not end aea~errd toðer In aap- randarea arate rendltlona. Tha oombInaa ralua of both IS less than three thousand dOllare.”
You also Indicate In your brle,f thr land In question is an urban hoasotead, and that there la no oontrorerey concerning Its balng a hoaoetaad by reason O$ Its ass the purposes of a home. for
The Texas Constitution, Saction 51, Artlola mVf, daflnea a hoaeetead as tollor:a:
Vha honestead, not in a tom cr city, shall conelet of not more then two hundred sores of len:, vihlch mey be in ona or more paroela, rlth the Iaprovomenta the thereon; hc?aaetred in a olty, town or village, shall oonelst 0r lot, or lots, not to axcqqa value five thoueand dollars, at the tise of their designation as the hosestead, without rrrarancr the relaa of any laprorenente that thr eama shall br tharaon; provided, aaad for the purposes of a horns, or as a place to uerolaa celling or buslnaes oi the head a famlly; prowldad also, nny temporery renting or the honastaad shall not change tha oharaoter of the aaae, when no other hoaeeteed has boon aCqUlr8d.'
Seotlon la, Article VIII, of the Texas Conetl- tatlon, saoptad August 26, 1933, prorldaa part : r0im8
Vhrqq Thousand Dollars (3j,OCO.O0) of the eereerd taxable value of all reel- danoq homaatqads 88 IlOW dafinad by l&u shall ba exempt iron all taxation for all State purpoeea; . . . .II
8onorebla HolDor L. Yams, 9~88 3
The tam “ree1d~no8 homeetaada* has ao- qairra wall aqfinqa meaning In our law, es dle- tInguIahIng tha urban hooeateatl; tha homeateaa ohar- l otarletloa of whloh era aoqulred by reason of Ita aeq for tha purposes of a home, frcie the arban home- stead whloh aoqalree Its honaetead l tatua froa Its uea as a place to l xeroIea tha calling or baaIneaa the head of a family, latter being known a ~bualneae holraatead~. Proa tha faata l tetra Tour lattar, lt Is l pperant that thr land question is the taxpa~er’e
home8taaa because Its ass for the purpoaer of a horns of the family, end It Is our opinion tha mera produotlon of gas from eafa tract woala that not deprive it of its statue as a W?aIdenOI homestead* and convert it Into a RbusInees homeetsad.*
It Is will eattlad ln this stats that thq homestead Intercat In the reeIdanoa homestead of the family extends to the sIasrala In place, 1ncludInng uie oil and gee, as well as the aurfaca aatate, ana l xeoutlon of an oil end gas lt-.aaa does not drprlte the mlnerala rrteinad by the Rraator of thaIr homestead !Wine 18. ;dille (C. C. A. 19 3) 67 F. (26) charaatm. 840; Crlseom vs. Anderson (Sap. Ct. 1535 3 79 F. W. (26) 619; Cats8 vs. Groan (T. C. A. 1938) 114 6. S. (2d) 592; Gulf Froduetlon Co. vs. Contlnsntal Oil Co. (Sup. Ct. 1939) 132 s. c;. (26) 553. In Dane vs. XIlla, eupra, which hem been favorably cited by Texas courts, it was bald th4t tha hoa6atead cheraotcr with respect c0ntia0a to the poseIbllIty of reverter, as well as th4 r6served royalty, aftrr an 011 and Ema lease was rxeautad coterlug tha homeetaad.
The exanptlon oontainra in Seotlon la, Article VIII, or the Constitution, to the extent of the epecIfIed taxable valua, Is ebeolu:e and Is as broad as tha rseIaence hoaeet~ed Itself, es now defined by lsw, which under the decided oaeae includes the feinrrale in place as well as It the feet the property the eurfea6 l atet~. oonetltutae a residence homestead, rather than say tar- tlculer fora! of rendition which ntl~lee the homestoad claimant to mch uemptlon. It was rulrd by tiA8 arpart- neat In conference opinion Xo. 2925, datad Daly 12, 1933, addreeeed to Eicnorebla Gao. R. Sheppard, appearIn@ in Vol. 65, pees 262, tuticlr VIII, Seotlon la,
Honorable Boaor i.. Uoea , wer 4 end In a lrttar o9InIor1 detrd June 6,
aalf-•x+utIng! to lionorabl~ Carry Lagott, lettar book l a3r~eaea TOI. 364, paer 790, it wea ruled if property w foot reeldonoa hoaaataad, it exrapt from all eteta taxation, whathrr rrndrrrd or oarandarad. It Is our opinion that a taxpafar la entltlad
to oonatItntIonal xasptlon prorldrd In fitior 7111, Seotloa le. of tha Taxes ConetItutIon, on a tract of ‘land whloh Is in fact hla reeIdenor hoaeataad, upon thr ooeblxea or ageraeatr valor toth tha mIneral and eurfaaa eatatae in such traot, the extent of 53,000.00 of the eeeeeeed taxable ral~e of the whola, although they my have been renderad reparately.
Yoare very truly ATTCRKEY GiTiFAL OF T,ZAS BY AasIstf2nt h--b
ATTORNXY GENERAL OF TEXAS