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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

  1. 1

    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.

  2. 2

    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.

  3. 3

    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.

  4. 4

    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.

  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 request within the three-business-day window limits what you lose.

  7. 7

    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.

Open the Claim of Exemption guide

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CLAIM OF EXEMPTION (NEBRASKA - WAGE GARNISHMENT)

Asserted under Neb. Rev. Stat. section 25-1011 and section 25-1558. Nebraska requires the uniform garnishment forms promulgated by the Supreme Court; the judgment debtor raises the exemption by filing a Request for Hearing on Garnishment with the court that issued the garnishment. The judgment debtor claims that some or all of the wages or funds being garnished are exempt and asks the court to release them and set a hearing.

  1. COURT AND CASE Court that issued the garnishment: [COURT NAME] Case number: [CASE NUMBER] Garnishment number: [NUMBER, IF ANY]

  2. PARTIES Judgment creditor: [CREDITOR NAME] Judgment debtor (you): [DEBTOR NAME] Debtor address: [DEBTOR ADDRESS] Garnishee (employer or bank served): [EMPLOYER OR BANK NAME]

  3. WHAT IS BEING GARNISHED [ ] Wages from my employer: [EMPLOYER NAME] [ ] Funds in my account at: [BANK NAME] Approximate amount being taken: $[AMOUNT]

  4. EXEMPTION CLAIMED I claim that the money is exempt for the following reason(s): [ ] I am the head of a family, so garnishment is limited to 15 percent of my disposable earnings (section 25-1558). [ ] The wage-garnishment limit under section 25-1558 protects at least 75 percent of my earnings. [ ] The funds come from an exempt source: [SOCIAL SECURITY / DISABILITY / VETERANS BENEFITS / PENSION / PUBLIC BENEFITS / OTHER]. Amount I ask the court to protect: $[AMOUNT CLAIMED EXEMPT]

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

  6. 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]

  7. REQUEST FOR HEARING I request a hearing on this claim. I understand the court will set a hearing date within 10 days of receiving this request, and I ask that the exempt money be protected until then.

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

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

Note: File the Request for Hearing on Garnishment with the court that issued the garnishment within three business days after you receive the Notice to Judgment Debtor. This window is very short. Confirm the current uniform forms and procedure, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before you file.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

A Nebraska claim of exemption is how you protect wages or bank funds from a garnishment. You raise it by filing a Request for Hearing on Garnishment with the court that issued the garnishment, using the uniform forms the state provides. 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 notice. A Nebraska claim of exemption accepts the judgment but says the specific wages or funds are legally protected, for example because you are a head of family or the money comes from an exempt source. You raise the exemption on the Request for Hearing on Garnishment, and you can point out a defect at the same time.

For most people 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, protecting at least 75 percent of your pay. If you are a head of family, section 25-1558 limits garnishment to 15 percent. Disposable earnings are what is left after legally required deductions.

The window is unusually 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. Because that deadline passes quickly and money can be held while the claim is decided, act the day the garnishment paperwork arrives.

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 a head of family keeps more. If exempt funds are frozen in a bank account, a claim of exemption is how you get them released.

Yes. If you are the head of a family, section 25-1558 limits garnishment to 15 percent of your disposable earnings, so 85 percent of your pay is protected, more than the standard cap. You assert this protection when you file the Request for Hearing on Garnishment, and details of your income and dependents support it at the hearing.

You file the Request for Hearing on Garnishment with the court that issued the garnishment, using the uniform garnishment forms the Nebraska Supreme Court provides. That court then sets a hearing date within 10 days of receiving your request.

Once you file the Request for Hearing on Garnishment, the court sets a hearing date within 10 days of receiving it. 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, so filing within the three-business-day window matters.