Montana Claim of Exemption
File a Montana claim of exemption to stop wage garnishment. Learn the Notice of Claimed Exemptions form, what pay is exempt, and the 10-day hearing deadline.
Introduction
A Montana claim of exemption is a form you file 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 writ of execution on your employer or bank and take money from your pay or account. In Montana you file a Notice of Claimed Exemption(s) and Request for Hearing with the court that issued the execution. Under Montana Code Annotated title 25, chapter 13, you must file it within 10 days, not counting weekends and holidays, of receiving the notice of execution or the date it was mailed. Miss that deadline and you may lose the right to claim an exemption in the seized property. The court then holds a hearing within 10 days. Money can be held while the claim is decided, so act quickly. DocDraft prepares a Montana claim of exemption from your details, and attorney review is available before you file.
Key Things to Know
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A Montana claim of exemption is a form you file 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 file a Notice of Claimed Exemption(s) and Request for Hearing with the court that issued the execution. Under section 25-13-212 you have 10 days, excluding weekends and holidays, from receiving the notice of execution or the date it was mailed.
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Montana follows the federal wage limit. Under section 25-13-614 a creditor can take the lesser of 25 percent of your disposable earnings, or the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage, which is 217.50 dollars.
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Missing the deadline is costly. If you do not file your written request for a hearing within the 10-day window, you may not claim an exemption in the seized property, so the clock matters.
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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 can be held while the claim is decided. Because a garnishment reaches your pay or account until the claim is resolved, filing your notice quickly limits what you lose.
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Filing gets you a prompt hearing. A court that receives your request must hold the exemption hearing within 10 days, excluding weekends and holidays, where you show the money is protected and the creditor must justify the garnishment.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Claim of Exemption in Montana, 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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Montana Requirements for Claim of Exemption
File the Montana claim of exemption with the correct office, the court or the levying officer as Montana 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 Montana claim of exemption is how you protect wages or bank funds from a garnishment. You raise it by filing a Notice of Claimed Exemption(s) and Request for Hearing with the court that issued the execution. It tells the court that some or all of the money is exempt, meaning the law does not let a creditor take it, and it asks the court to set a hearing on your claim.
An objection challenges whether the garnishment itself is proper, such as a wrong amount or a defect in the execution. A Montana 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. You raise the exemption on the Notice of Claimed Exemption(s) and Request for Hearing, and you can point out a defect at the same time.
Under Montana Code Annotated section 25-13-614 a creditor can take the lesser of 25 percent of your disposable earnings, or the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage, which is 217.50 dollars. Disposable earnings are what is left after legally required deductions. This tracks the federal wage limit.
Under section 25-13-212 you must file your written request for a hearing within 10 days, excluding weekends and holidays, of receiving the notice of execution or the date it was mailed to you. If you miss that window, you may not claim an exemption in the seized property, so file your notice as soon as you get 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 under the federal wage limit. If exempt funds are frozen in a bank account, a claim of exemption is how you get them released.
Montana does not have a separate head-of-household wage percentage, but the federal wage limit already shields a baseline share of your pay, and income you need for basic necessities may support your claim. A financial statement showing your income, expenses, and dependents helps the court weigh your exemption at the hearing on your notice.
You file the Notice of Claimed Exemption(s) and Request for Hearing with the court that issued the execution. That court then schedules and holds the exemption hearing, which must take place within 10 days, excluding weekends and holidays, of receiving your request.
The court that issued the execution must hold a hearing within 10 days, excluding weekends and holidays, of receiving your request. At the hearing you show the money is exempt and the creditor must justify the garnishment. If the court agrees the funds are protected, it releases them. Money can be held while the claim is decided.