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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

  1. 1

    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.

  2. 2

    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. 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. 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.

  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 your motion is pending. Because each paycheck is garnished until the court resolves your motion, filing quickly limits what you lose.

  7. 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.

Open the Claim of Exemption guide

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MOTION FOR HEARING / CLAIM OF EXEMPTION (MAINE - WAGE GARNISHMENT)

Filed under 14 M.R.S.A. section 3127-B and 9-A M.R.S.A. section 5-105. The judgment debtor states that some or all of the earnings being withheld are exempt and asks the court to decide how much, if any, should be paid to the creditor.

  1. COURT AND CASE Court that issued the judgment: [COURT NAME] Case number: [CASE NUMBER] Date the employer's answer was served: [DATE SERVED]

  2. PARTIES Judgment creditor: [CREDITOR NAME] Judgment debtor (you): [DEBTOR NAME] Debtor address: [DEBTOR ADDRESS] Employer (payor of earnings): [EMPLOYER NAME]

  3. EXEMPTION CLAIMED I state that the earnings are exempt for the following reason(s): [ ] The wage-garnishment limit under 9-A M.R.S.A. 5-105(2) protects part of my earnings (the lesser of 25 percent of weekly disposable earnings, or the amount above 40 times the higher of the federal or Maine minimum wage). [ ] The funds come from an exempt source: [SOCIAL SECURITY / DISABILITY / VETERANS BENEFITS / PENSION / OTHER]. [ ] Withholding this amount would leave me unable to pay for basic necessities. Amount I ask the court to protect each pay period: $[AMOUNT CLAIMED EXEMPT]

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

  5. 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]

  6. REQUEST FOR HEARING I ask the court to set a hearing on this motion to determine what amount, if any, of my earnings should be ordered payable to the creditor, and to protect the exempt earnings until the hearing is held.

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

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

Note: File this motion for a hearing with the court that issued the judgment within 20 days of the date the employer's answer is served (14 M.R.S.A. 3127-B(3)). Confirm the current procedure with that court, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before you file.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

A Maine 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 Maine you raise it by filing a motion for a hearing within 20 days of the date your employer's answer is served.

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 Maine you file a motion for a hearing to raise your exemption, and you can point out a defect in the garnishment at the same time.

Under 9-A M.R.S.A. section 5-105(2) a creditor can take 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. Disposable earnings are what is left after legally required deductions. The 40-times floor protects more of your pay than the federal 30-times floor does.

In Maine you have 20 days from the date your employer's answer is served to file a motion requesting a hearing, under 14 M.R.S.A. section 3127-B(3). The window is short and money is withheld while it runs, so file as soon as you learn of the garnishment. Missing the deadline can forfeit wages the law would have protected.

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 under the Maine wage cap, which shields earnings up to 40 times the higher of the federal or state minimum wage. Frozen exempt benefits in a bank account are released through a claim of exemption.

Maine does not add a separate head-of-household exemption on top of the wage cap the way some states do. Your earnings are protected up to the lesser of 25 percent of disposable wages or the amount above 40 times the higher of the federal or state minimum wage. If money you need for support comes from an exempt source like Social Security, you can claim that at your hearing.

You file a motion for a hearing with the court that issued the judgment. Maine does not provide a separate statewide claim-of-exemption form for wages, so the request is made by motion. The court then sets a hearing to decide how much of your earnings, if any, should be paid to the creditor. Bring proof of your income and of any exempt sources.

The court sets a hearing to determine what amount, if any, of your earnings should be ordered payable to the creditor. 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. Until then, money generally keeps being withheld.