A home is a social unit formed by a family living together in one dwelling.

Explanation

The home is defined not by walls but by the family within — a dwelling becomes a home when a family makes it the seat of their common life.

Where this applies

• A court must determine whether a college dormitory room qualifies as a student's 'home' for Fourth Amendment purposes — the question turns on whether the student has established it as the seat of her daily family or personal life, not merely whether it has walls and a roof.
• A man lives in a converted van with his wife and child, moving from place to place — a court recognizes that this vehicle is their home because a home is defined by the family living together within it, not by the permanence of the structure.
• Two siblings argue over whether their deceased mother's empty house still qualifies as the family home for inheritance purposes — because no family currently lives together in the dwelling, the house is a structure but no longer a home in the legal sense.

See also

• 4.1.2 Not cohabitation but consent makes marriage.
• 5.3.3 Every man's house is his castle and fortress, not merely for his own protection, but for the protection of his family and his property therein.