As used in this article:

Terms Used In West Virginia Code 38-9-2

  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.

(1) "Homestead" means property owned and used as the principal home for the debtor, his spouse or a dependent, or any or all of them, whether classified as real property, chattel real, a fixture or personal property; and

(2) "Value," without any modifying words, means fair market value as of the date the exemption is asserted, less all liens other than judicial liens obtained by legal or equitable proceedings.