Nebraska Claim of Exemption
File a Nebraska claim of exemption to stop wage garnishment. Learn the head-of-family 15% limit, what pay is exempt, and the short 3-business-day deadline.
Introduction
A Nebraska claim of exemption is how you 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 Nebraska you assert your protection by filing a Request for Hearing on Garnishment with the court that issued the garnishment. The deadline is unusually short: you must file within three business days after you receive the Notice to Judgment Debtor, so act the day the paperwork arrives. Nebraska gives a head of family extra protection, limiting garnishment to 15 percent of disposable earnings instead of the usual cap. Some income, like Social Security, is exempt no matter the debt. Money can be held while the claim is decided. DocDraft prepares a Nebraska 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 Nebraska claim of exemption is how you protect some or all of your wages or bank funds from garnishment. You raise it by filing a Request for Hearing on Garnishment with the court that issued the garnishment, telling the court the money is exempt so a creditor cannot take it.
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The deadline is very short. Under section 25-1011 you must file the Request for Hearing on Garnishment with the court within three business days after you receive the Notice to Judgment Debtor, so do not wait once the paperwork arrives.
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For most people the standard limit applies. A creditor can take up to 25 percent of your disposable earnings, or only the amount by which your weekly disposable earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage if that is less, which protects at least 75 percent of your pay.
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A head of family gets stronger protection. Under section 25-1558 garnishment is limited to 15 percent of disposable earnings for a head of family, so 85 percent of your pay is protected, and you assert this when you request the hearing.
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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 request within the three-business-day window limits what you lose.
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Filing gets you a hearing. Once you file the Request for Hearing on Garnishment, the court sets a hearing date within 10 days of receiving it, 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 Nebraska, 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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Nebraska Requirements for Claim of Exemption
Nebraska Filing Deadline and Office
File the Nebraska claim of exemption with the correct office, the court or the levying officer as Nebraska 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.