Louisiana Claim of Exemption
File a Louisiana claim of exemption to protect wages from garnishment. Learn what pay is exempt, how much a creditor can take, and how to move to stop it.
Introduction
A Louisiana 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 garnishment on your employer and pull a share of every paycheck. In Louisiana you raise your exemption by filing a motion with the court, usually a motion to dissolve the garnishment or an opposition to the garnishment proceedings. Louisiana law does not set a fixed number of days to file, but the court keeps power to amend or set aside a garnishment at any time, so you should act quickly. State law exempts 75 percent of your disposable earnings, and income like Social Security stays off limits no matter the debt. DocDraft prepares a Louisiana claim of exemption from your details, and attorney review is available before you file.
Key Things to Know
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A Louisiana claim of exemption is a request 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.
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Louisiana does not set a fixed filing deadline. You raise the exemption by motion with the court that issued the garnishment, and under La. R.S. 13:3928 the court keeps power to amend or set aside its garnishment order at any time, so act quickly.
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State law protects 75 percent of your pay. Under La. R.S. 13:3881(A)(1)(a) a creditor can reach only your disposable earnings above 75 percent, and in no case can it take earnings below 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage for the week.
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You file a motion, not a fixed state form. Louisiana has no statewide claim-of-exemption form for wages; the exemption is raised through a motion to dissolve the garnishment or an opposition to the garnishment proceedings.
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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.
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Money is withheld while your motion is pending. Because each paycheck is garnished until the court resolves your motion, filing quickly limits what you lose.
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Filing puts the question to a judge. When you move to dissolve or oppose the garnishment, the court can hold a hearing where you show the wages are protected and the creditor must justify the garnishment to keep it.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Claim of Exemption in Louisiana, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Claim of Exemption guide walks through them.
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Louisiana Requirements for Claim of Exemption
File the Louisiana claim of exemption with the correct office, the court or the levying officer as Louisiana 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 Louisiana claim of exemption is a request you file with the court 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. In Louisiana you raise it by filing a motion, usually a motion to dissolve the garnishment or an opposition to the garnishment proceedings, with the court that issued the order.
An objection challenges whether the garnishment itself is proper, such as a wrong amount, the wrong person, or a defective notice. A claim of exemption accepts that the debt exists but says the specific wages or funds are legally protected. In Louisiana you file a motion or opposition to raise your exemption, and you can point out a defect in the garnishment at the same time.
Under Louisiana Revised Statutes section 13:3881(A)(1)(a), 75 percent of your disposable earnings for the week is exempt, so a creditor can reach only the remaining share. In no case can the garnishment reach earnings below 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage, which is 217.50 dollars. Disposable earnings are what is left after legally required deductions.
Louisiana law does not set a fixed number of days to file. You raise the exemption by motion with the court that issued the garnishment, and the court keeps power to amend or set aside its order at any time. Because money is withheld from each paycheck while the motion is pending, you should file 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. At least 75 percent of ordinary wages is also protected under the Louisiana wage exemption. If exempt benefits are frozen in a bank account, a claim of exemption is how you get them released.
Louisiana does not add a separate head-of-household exemption on top of the wage exemption the way some states do. Your earnings are protected at 75 percent of disposable wages, and never below 30 times the federal minimum wage for the week. If money you need for support comes from an exempt source like Social Security, you can claim that in your motion.
You file your motion to dissolve the garnishment or your opposition to the garnishment proceedings with the court that issued the garnishment order. Louisiana has no separate statewide claim-of-exemption form for wages, so the request is made by motion. Bring proof of your income and of any exempt sources of the money to the hearing.
The court can set a hearing on your motion, where you show that the wages or funds are exempt and the creditor must justify the garnishment. Because the court keeps power to amend or set aside its garnishment order at any time, it can release protected funds and stop or reduce the garnishment. Until the motion is decided, money generally keeps coming out of each check.