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Georgia Claim of Exemption

Georgia claim of exemption: protect wages from garnishment. File the Defendant's Claim Form, see what income is exempt, and the 20-day deadline to file.

Introduction

A Georgia claim of exemption is a form you file with the court to protect some or all of your wages or bank funds from a garnishment. An exemption is money the law says a creditor cannot take. After a creditor wins a money judgment, it can serve a garnishment on your employer or bank and take part of every paycheck. In Georgia you file the Defendant's Claim Form with the Clerk of Court where the garnishment is pending. The deadline is important: you may lose your right to claim an exemption if you do not file within 20 days after the Garnishee's Answer is filed. Georgia caps ordinary wage garnishment at the federal level, and some income like Social Security is exempt no matter the debt. Because money is taken while the claim is pending, file as soon as you can. DocDraft prepares a Georgia claim of exemption from your details, and attorney review is available before you file.

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Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    A Georgia claim of exemption is a form you file with the court to protect some or all of your wages or bank funds from garnishment. It tells the court the money is exempt, meaning the law does not let a creditor take it. In Georgia this is the Defendant's Claim Form.

  2. 2

    The deadline runs from the Garnishee's Answer. Under O.C.G.A. section 18-4-82 you may lose your right to claim an exemption if you do not file your claim form within 20 days after the Garnishee's Answer is filed with the Clerk of Court.

  3. 3

    Georgia follows the federal wage limit. Under O.C.G.A. section 18-4-5 a creditor can take no more than the lesser of 25 percent of your disposable earnings, or the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 217.50 dollars.

  4. 4

    Some income is exempt no matter the debt. Social Security, disability, veterans benefits, and many pensions and public benefits are protected, and a claim of exemption is how you free those funds if a bank has frozen them.

  5. 5

    Watch for the Notice to Defendant. The plaintiff must serve you with the statutory Notice to Defendant and the Defendant's Claim Form not more than three business days after serving your employer, so the paperwork you need arrives with that notice.

  6. 6

    Money is taken while the claim is pending, so act fast. Wages are withheld under the garnishment until the court resolves your claim, so filing the Defendant's Claim Form quickly limits what you lose.

  7. 7

    Filing gets you a hearing. The court schedules a hearing within ten days after it receives your claim form, where you show the money is exempt and the creditor must justify the garnishment.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Claim of Exemption in Georgia, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Claim of Exemption guide walks through them.

Open the Claim of Exemption guide

Customize your Claim of Exemption Template with DocDraft

CLAIM OF EXEMPTION (GEORGIA - DEFENDANT'S CLAIM FORM)

Filed under the Georgia garnishment statute, O.C.G.A. section 18-4-1 and following. The judgment debtor (defendant) claims that some or all of the wages or funds being garnished are exempt and asks the court to release them and stop or reduce the garnishment.

  1. COURT AND CASE Court where the garnishment is pending: [COURT NAME] Clerk of Court: [CLERK] Case number: [CASE NUMBER] Date the Garnishee's Answer was filed: [DATE]

  2. PARTIES Plaintiff (judgment creditor): [CREDITOR NAME] Defendant (you): [DEBTOR NAME] Debtor address: [DEBTOR ADDRESS] Garnishee (employer or bank): [GARNISHEE NAME]

  3. WHAT IS BEING GARNISHED [ ] Wages from my employer: [EMPLOYER NAME] [ ] Funds in my account at: [BANK NAME] Approximate amount being taken: $[AMOUNT]

  4. EXEMPTION CLAIMED I claim that the money is exempt for the following reason(s): [ ] The amount withheld is more than the federal wage-garnishment limit allows (O.C.G.A. section 18-4-5). [ ] The funds come from an exempt source: [SOCIAL SECURITY / DISABILITY / VETERANS BENEFITS / PENSION / OTHER]. [ ] Other exempt property under Georgia or federal law: [DESCRIBE]. Amount I ask the court to protect: $[AMOUNT CLAIMED EXEMPT]

  5. SOURCE OF THE FUNDS Describe where the money comes from: [DESCRIPTION OF WAGES OR DEPOSITED FUNDS]

  6. FINANCIAL STATEMENT (attach if the court requires one) Monthly take-home income: $[INCOME] Monthly necessary expenses: $[EXPENSES] Number of people I support: [NUMBER OF DEPENDENTS]

  7. REQUEST FOR HEARING I ask the court to set a hearing on this claim and to protect the exempt money until the hearing is held.

  8. VERIFICATION I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Georgia that the statements above are true and correct.

Debtor signature: [SIGNATURE] Printed name: [NAME] Date: [DATE]

Note: File the Defendant's Claim Form with the Clerk of Court where the garnishment is pending within 20 days after the Garnishee's Answer is filed. The court schedules a hearing within ten days of receiving your claim. Confirm the current form and deadline, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before you file.

Georgia Requirements for Claim of Exemption

Georgia Filing Deadline and Office

File the Georgia claim of exemption with the correct office, the court or the levying officer as Georgia directs, within the state's window after the garnishment is served. Money is usually held until the claim is decided, so filing late can forfeit wages the law would otherwise protect.

Frequently Asked Questions

A Georgia claim of exemption is a form, called the Defendant's Claim Form, that you file to protect wages or bank funds from a garnishment. It tells the court that some or all of the money is exempt, meaning the law does not let a creditor take it. You file it with the Clerk of Court where the garnishment is pending, within 20 days after the Garnishee's Answer is filed.

An objection challenges whether the garnishment itself is proper, such as a wrong amount or a defect in the paperwork. A Georgia claim of exemption accepts that the judgment exists but says the specific wages or funds are legally protected, for example because they come from Social Security. The Defendant's Claim Form is how you raise the exemption, and you can point out a defect at the same time.

Georgia follows the federal limit. Under O.C.G.A. section 18-4-5, a creditor can take the lesser of 25 percent of your disposable earnings for the week, or the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 217.50 dollars. Disposable earnings are what is left after legally required deductions. Some income, such as Social Security, cannot be garnished for ordinary debts at all.

You may lose your right to claim an exemption if you do not file the Defendant's Claim Form within 20 days after the Garnishee's Answer is filed with the Clerk of Court. That means the clock is tied to your employer's answer, not the day you were served. Because the window is short, act as soon as you learn of the garnishment.

Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, disability, veterans benefits, and many pensions and public benefits are exempt from garnishment for ordinary debts, no matter how much you owe. A baseline share of ordinary wages is also protected under the federal limit. If exempt benefits are frozen in a bank account, a claim of exemption is how you get them released.

Georgia does not add a separate head-of-household wage exemption, so the same federal wage limit applies whether or not you support a family. You can still protect income that is exempt by source, such as Social Security, disability, or veterans benefits, and you can show the court that funds in a garnished account come from those protected sources by filing the Defendant's Claim Form.

You file the Defendant's Claim Form with the Clerk of Court where the garnishment is pending, not with the creditor or your employer. The form usually arrives with the Notice to Defendant that the plaintiff must serve on you. Once the clerk receives your claim, the court schedules a hearing within ten days.

The court schedules a hearing within ten days after it receives your claim form. At the hearing you show that the wages or funds are exempt, and the creditor must justify the garnishment. If the court agrees the money is protected, it releases those funds and stops or reduces the garnishment. If you miss the 20-day window, the garnishment usually continues.