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Hawaii Claim of Exemption

Hawaii claim of exemption: protect wages from garnishment. File Form 1DC27B, see Hawaii's tiered wage-exemption formula, and what income is exempt.

Introduction

A Hawaii claim of exemption is a request 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 garnishee summons on your employer and take a limited share of your pay. Hawaii protects more of a lower paycheck than federal law does, using a tiered formula, and some income like Social Security is exempt no matter the debt. There is no fixed deadline: under section 652-1 you can ask the court to release exempt wages at any time after the garnishee summons is served. You do this by filing a motion, Form 1DC27B, which also sets a hearing. Because money is withheld while the garnishment runs, file as soon as you can. DocDraft prepares a Hawaii 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 Hawaii claim of exemption is a motion 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 Hawaii you use the Motion for Return or Release of Wages Exempt from Garnishment, Form 1DC27B.

  2. 2

    There is no fixed filing deadline. Under section 652-1(d) you can ask the court to release exempt wages at any time after the garnishee summons is served. Because money is withheld while the garnishment runs, do not wait to file.

  3. 3

    Hawaii uses a tiered wage formula. Under section 652-1 the amount subject to garnishment is 5 percent of the first 100 dollars of monthly disposable earnings, 10 percent of the next 100 dollars, and 20 percent of everything over 200 dollars, or the equivalent per week.

  4. 4

    Your employer withholds the smaller of two limits. The employer compares the Hawaii tiered amount with the federal limit and withholds whichever is less, so a lower paycheck keeps more protection than federal law alone would give.

  5. 5

    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.

  6. 6

    Money is withheld while the claim is pending. Wages keep coming out under the garnishee summons until the court rules on your motion, so filing quickly limits what you lose.

  7. 7

    Your motion asks for a hearing. Form 1DC27B includes a notice-of-hearing section that sets a court date, where you show the wages are exempt and the creditor must justify the garnishment.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Claim of Exemption in Hawaii, 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 (HAWAII - MOTION TO RELEASE EXEMPT WAGES)

Filed under Hawaii Revised Statutes chapter 652. The judgment debtor asks the court to find that some or all of the wages or funds being garnished are exempt and to return or release them.

  1. COURT AND CASE Court that issued the garnishment order: [COURT NAME] Case number: [CASE NUMBER] Garnishee summons date: [DATE, IF KNOWN]

  2. PARTIES Judgment creditor (plaintiff): [CREDITOR NAME] Judgment debtor (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 ask the court to find that the money is exempt for the following reason(s): [ ] The amount withheld is more than Hawaii's tiered wage limit under section 652-1 allows. [ ] The amount withheld is more than the federal wage-garnishment limit allows. [ ] The funds come from an exempt source: [SOCIAL SECURITY / DISABILITY / VETERANS BENEFITS / PENSION / OTHER]. Amount I ask the court to return or release: $[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 motion and to hold the exempt money until the hearing is held.

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

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

Note: File this motion (Form 1DC27B, Motion for Return or Release of Wages Exempt from Garnishment) with the court that issued the garnishment order. You may file at any time after the garnishee summons is served, and the form includes a notice-of-hearing section. Confirm the current form and procedure, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before you file.

Hawaii Requirements for Claim of Exemption

Hawaii Filing Deadline and Office

File the Hawaii claim of exemption with the correct office, the court or the levying officer as Hawaii 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 Hawaii claim of exemption is a motion, Form 1DC27B, 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 court that issued the garnishment order, and you can do so at any time after the garnishee summons is served.

An objection challenges whether the garnishment itself is proper, such as a wrong amount or a defect in the summons. A Hawaii claim of exemption accepts that the judgment exists but says the specific wages or funds are legally protected. You raise it by filing the Motion for Return or Release of Wages Exempt from Garnishment, and you can point out a defect at the same time.

Hawaii uses a tiered formula on monthly disposable earnings: 5 percent of the first 100 dollars, 10 percent of the next 100 dollars, and 20 percent of everything above 200 dollars. Your employer compares this with the federal limit and withholds whichever is less. Because of the tiers, a lower paycheck keeps more of its pay than under federal law alone.

Hawaii does not set a fixed number of days. Under section 652-1(d) you can ask the court to release exempt wages at any time after the garnishee summons is served. Even though there is no strict deadline, money is withheld while the garnishment runs, so file your motion as soon as you learn of it.

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 share of ordinary wages is also protected by Hawaii's tiered formula. If exempt benefits are frozen in a bank account, a claim of exemption is how you get them released.

Hawaii does not add a separate head-of-household wage exemption. Instead, its tiered formula already shields most of a smaller paycheck, and your employer withholds only the lesser of the Hawaii and federal limits. You can also protect income that is exempt by source, such as Social Security or disability, by showing the court those funds in your motion.

You file the Motion for Return or Release of Wages Exempt from Garnishment, Form 1DC27B, with the court that issued the garnishment order, not with the creditor or your employer. The form includes a notice-of-hearing section, so filing it both raises your exemption and sets a court date.

Filing your motion puts the question in front of the court and sets a hearing. 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 orders those funds released and stops or reduces what is withheld. Until then, money is held rather than paid out.