Maine Claim of Exemption
File a Maine claim of exemption to protect wages from garnishment. Learn the 20-day motion for a hearing, what pay is exempt, and how to stop or reduce it.
Introduction
A Maine 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 reach your earnings through your employer and pull a share of every paycheck. In Maine you assert your exemption by filing a motion for a hearing, and you have 20 days from the date your employer's answer is served to request that hearing. Maine protects more of your pay than the federal floor, shielding your earnings up to 40 times the higher of the federal or state minimum wage, and income like Social Security stays off limits no matter the debt. Because money is withheld while your motion is pending, act quickly. DocDraft prepares a Maine claim of exemption from your details, and attorney review is available before you file.
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Key Things to Know
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A Maine 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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You have 20 days to act. Under 14 M.R.S.A. section 3127-B(3), you may request a hearing by motion within 20 days of the date the employer's answer is served, to decide how much of your earnings should be withheld.
- 3
Maine protects more of your pay than federal law. Under 9-A M.R.S.A. section 5-105(2) a creditor can take no more than the lesser of 25 percent of your weekly disposable earnings, or the amount by which they exceed 40 times the higher of the federal or Maine minimum wage.
- 4
You raise the exemption by motion. Maine has no separate statewide claim-of-exemption form for wages; you file a motion for a hearing with the court that issued the judgment.
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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.
- 6
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.
- 7
Filing gets you a hearing. Your motion asks the court to decide what amount, if any, of your earnings should be paid to the creditor, where you show the wages are protected and the creditor must justify the garnishment.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Claim of Exemption in Maine, 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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Maine Requirements for Claim of Exemption
Maine Filing Deadline and Office
File the Maine claim of exemption with the correct office, the court or the levying officer as Maine 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.