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Minnesota Claim of Exemption

File a Minnesota claim of exemption to stop wage garnishment. Learn the JGM802 exemption notice, what income is exempt, and the 10-day deadline to respond.

Introduction

A Minnesota claim of exemption is a form you use 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 judgment, it can serve a garnishment on your employer or bank and pull money from your pay or account. In Minnesota you assert your protection with the Debtor's Exemption Claim Notice, which is part of form JGM802, and you mail or deliver it to the creditor or the creditor's attorney. Under Minnesota Statutes chapter 571 you are served with a garnishment exemption notice at least 10 days before the first garnishment summons, and you respond within that window. If the creditor disagrees, it must file a Notice of Objection and ask the district court for a hearing. Money can be held while the claim is decided, so act quickly. DocDraft prepares a Minnesota 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 Minnesota claim of exemption is a form you use to protect some or all of your wages or bank funds from garnishment. It tells the creditor and the court the money is exempt, meaning the law does not let a creditor take it.

  2. 2

    You assert the exemption on the Debtor's Exemption Claim Notice, which is contained in form JGM802, the Garnishment Exemption Notice and Notice of Intent to Garnish Earnings. You complete it and mail or deliver it to the creditor or the creditor's attorney.

  3. 3

    Minnesota protects more of your pay than the federal floor. Under section 571.922 a creditor can take the lesser of 25 percent of your disposable earnings, or the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 40 times the greater of the state or federal minimum wage, with lower caps for lower-income earners.

  4. 4

    If you get need-based government assistance, or have in the last six months, your wages are 100 percent exempt. That full protection is not automatic; you must file the exemption claim to assert it.

  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 can be held while the claim is decided. Because a garnishment reaches your pay or account until the claim is resolved, filing your exemption claim quickly limits what you lose.

  7. 7

    The creditor can object and trigger a hearing. If the creditor disputes your claim, it must file a Notice of Objection and request a hearing with the district court that issued the judgment, where you show the money is protected.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Claim of Exemption in Minnesota, 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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CLAIM OF EXEMPTION (MINNESOTA - WAGE GARNISHMENT)

Asserted under Minnesota Statutes chapter 571. The judgment debtor claims that some or all of the wages or funds being garnished are exempt and asks that they be released. In Minnesota this claim is made on the Debtor's Exemption Claim Notice, which is part of form JGM802, the Garnishment Exemption Notice and Notice of Intent to Garnish Earnings.

  1. COURT AND CASE Court (district court that issued the judgment): [COURT NAME] Case number: [CASE NUMBER] Garnishment or file number: [FILE NUMBER, IF ANY]

  2. PARTIES Judgment creditor: [CREDITOR NAME] Creditor's attorney (where you send this notice): [ATTORNEY NAME AND ADDRESS] Judgment debtor (you): [DEBTOR NAME] Debtor address: [DEBTOR ADDRESS] Employer or bank served: [EMPLOYER OR BANK NAME]

  3. EXEMPTION CLAIMED I claim that the money is exempt for the following reason(s): [ ] The wage-garnishment limit under Minn. Stat. section 571.922 protects part of my earnings. [ ] I receive, or in the last six months have received, need-based government assistance, so my earnings are exempt. [ ] The funds come from an exempt source: [SOCIAL SECURITY / DISABILITY / VETERANS BENEFITS / PENSION / PUBLIC BENEFITS / OTHER]. Amount I ask to be protected: $[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 requested) Monthly take-home income: $[INCOME] Monthly necessary expenses: $[EXPENSES] Number of people I support: [NUMBER OF DEPENDENTS]

  6. REQUEST FOR HEARING I ask that the exempt money be protected. I understand that if the creditor objects, it must file a Notice of Objection and request a hearing with the district court, where I can show the money is exempt.

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

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

Note: Complete the Debtor's Exemption Claim Notice within form JGM802 and mail or deliver it to the creditor or the creditor's attorney. Confirm the current form and procedure, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before you file.

Minnesota Requirements for Claim of Exemption

Minnesota Filing Deadline and Office

File the Minnesota claim of exemption with the correct office, the court or the levying officer as Minnesota 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 Minnesota claim of exemption is how you protect wages or bank funds from a garnishment. You assert it on the Debtor's Exemption Claim Notice within form JGM802 and send it to the creditor or the creditor's attorney. It tells them that some or all of the money is exempt, meaning the law does not let a creditor take it. If the creditor does not object, your protected funds are released.

An objection challenges whether the garnishment itself is proper, such as a wrong amount or a defect in the notice. A Minnesota claim of exemption accepts the judgment but says the specific wages or funds are legally protected, for example because they come from an exempt source or you receive need-based assistance. You raise the exemption on the Debtor's Exemption Claim Notice, and you can point out a defect at the same time.

Under Minnesota Statutes section 571.922 a creditor can take the lesser of 25 percent of your disposable earnings, or the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 40 times the greater of the state or federal minimum wage. Disposable earnings are what is left after legally required deductions. Lower-income earners are capped lower, and this protects more of your pay than the federal limit does.

Under chapter 571 you must be served with the garnishment exemption notice at least 10 days before the first garnishment summons, and you respond within that window by returning the exemption claim. Because money can be held while the claim is decided, complete and send your Debtor's Exemption Claim Notice as soon as you receive the garnishment paperwork.

Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, disability, veterans benefits, and many pensions and public benefits are exempt from garnishment for ordinary debts. A share of ordinary wages is also protected, and if you receive need-based government assistance your wages are 100 percent exempt. If exempt funds are frozen in a bank account, a claim of exemption is how you get them released.

Minnesota does not have a separate head-of-household wage percentage, but its base protection already shields more of your pay than federal law, and lower-income earners keep more. If you or your household receives need-based public assistance, your wages are fully exempt once you file the claim. A financial statement showing your income and expenses supports the exemption you assert.

You complete the Debtor's Exemption Claim Notice, which is part of form JGM802, and mail or deliver it to the creditor or the creditor's attorney rather than to the court. The court gets involved only if the creditor disputes your claim by filing a Notice of Objection and requesting a hearing with the district court that issued the judgment.

The creditor reviews your exemption claim. If it does nothing, your protected wages or funds are released. If it disagrees, it must file a Notice of Objection and request a hearing with the district court that issued the judgment, where you show the money is exempt and the creditor must justify the garnishment. Money can be held while the claim is decided.