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Tennessee Claim of Exemption

File a Tennessee claim of exemption to protect wages from garnishment. Learn the 20-day motion to stop garnishment, what pay is exempt, and the child exemption.

Introduction

A Tennessee claim of exemption is a request 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 garnishment on your employer and take part of each paycheck. In Tennessee you push back by applying to the court, at the clerk's office named on the garnishment, for a motion to stop the garnishment. If your employer is withholding too much, you have 20 days from any improper withholding to apply. Tennessee protects at least 75 percent of your disposable earnings and adds an exemption for each dependent child under 16, and some income like Social Security is off limits entirely. The court clerk must give you the forms you need to file. DocDraft prepares a Tennessee 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 Tennessee claim of exemption, filed as a motion to stop the garnishment, is a request you make to the court to protect some or all of your wages or bank funds from garnishment. It tells the court the money is exempt, meaning a creditor cannot take it.

  2. 2

    You have 20 days to act on improper withholding. Under Tenn. Code Ann. 26-2-216, if your employer is taking too much money from your wages, you may apply to the court within 20 days from any improper withholding for a motion to stop the garnishment.

  3. 3

    Tennessee protects most of your pay. Under Tenn. Code Ann. 26-2-106, a creditor can take only the lesser of 25 percent of your disposable earnings for the week, or the amount by which those earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage, so at least 75 percent is protected.

  4. 4

    Supporting children adds an exemption. Tennessee exempts an extra 2.50 dollars per week for each dependent child under 16 who is a Tennessee resident, so a larger family keeps more of each paycheck.

  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 motion to stop the garnishment is how you free those funds if a bank has frozen them.

  6. 6

    The court clerk must give you the forms. By statute the clerk's office provides the forms you need to file a motion to stop the garnishment or set up a payment plan, and money is withheld while the motion is pending, so act quickly.

  7. 7

    Filing puts the question before the court. Your motion asks the court to find the wages or funds exempt and to stop or reduce the garnishment, and the creditor must justify keeping any money you say is protected.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Claim of Exemption in Tennessee, 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 TO STOP THE GARNISHMENT (TENNESSEE - CLAIM OF EXEMPTION)

Filed under Tennessee Code Annotated chapter 26-2 (including Tenn. Code Ann. 26-2-106, 26-2-107, and 26-2-216). The judgment debtor claims that some or all of the wages or funds being garnished are exempt and asks the court to stop or reduce the garnishment and release the protected money. The clerk's office provides the forms, including the Protected Income and Assets form.

  1. COURT AND CASE Court: [COURT NAME] Clerk's office (from the garnishment): [CLERK / LOCATION] Case number: [CASE NUMBER] Garnishment number: [NUMBER, IF ANY]

  2. PARTIES Judgment creditor: [CREDITOR NAME] Judgment debtor (you): [DEBTOR NAME] Debtor address: [DEBTOR ADDRESS]

  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): [ ] The wage-garnishment limit under Tenn. Code Ann. 26-2-106 protects part of my earnings (at least 75 percent of disposable earnings). [ ] I have dependent children under 16 who reside in Tennessee, adding an exemption of 2.50 dollars per week for each such child. [ ] The money comes from an exempt source: [SOCIAL SECURITY / DISABILITY / VETERANS BENEFITS / PENSION / OTHER]. [ ] The employer is withholding more than the law allows. 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 (Protected Income and Assets form, attach if the court requires one) Monthly take-home income: $[INCOME] Monthly necessary expenses: $[EXPENSES] Dependent children under 16 residing in Tennessee: [NUMBER OF DEPENDENTS]

  7. REQUEST FOR HEARING I ask the court to hear this motion and to protect the exempt money until it is decided.

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

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

Note: Apply to the court at the clerk's office named on the garnishment within 20 days from any improper withholding. The clerk must provide the forms, including the Protected Income and Assets form. Confirm the current forms and deadline, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before you file.

Tennessee Requirements for Claim of Exemption

Tennessee Filing Deadline and Office

File the Tennessee claim of exemption with the correct office, the court or the levying officer as Tennessee 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

In Tennessee a claim of exemption is filed as a motion to stop the garnishment, a request you make to 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. Filing it lets you ask the court to stop or reduce the garnishment and to release protected money.

It is Tennessee's way of claiming that garnished wages or funds are exempt. You apply to the court at the clerk's office named on the garnishment. The clerk must provide the forms, including the Protected Income and Assets form, and you use them to show which money is protected and ask the court to stop or reduce the withholding.

Under Tenn. Code Ann. 26-2-106 a creditor can take only the lesser of 25 percent of your disposable earnings for the week, or the amount by which those earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum wage. That means at least 75 percent of your pay is protected, and Tennessee exempts an extra 2.50 dollars a week for each dependent child under 16 who lives in the state.

Under Tenn. Code Ann. 26-2-216, if your employer is withholding too much, you have 20 days from any improper withholding to apply to the court for a motion to stop the garnishment. Because money is taken from each paycheck while the motion is pending, apply as soon as you see an improper amount being withheld.

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. At least 75 percent of ordinary wages is also protected under Tennessee law. If exempt benefits are frozen in a bank account, a motion to stop the garnishment is how you ask the court to release them.

Yes. In addition to protecting at least 75 percent of your disposable earnings, Tennessee exempts an extra 2.50 dollars per week for each dependent child under 16 who is a Tennessee resident. You claim this by listing your dependent children when you file your motion to stop the garnishment, which lowers the amount a creditor can take each pay period.

You apply to the court at the clerk's office where the judgment was rendered, which is the office named on the garnishment. The clerk must give you the forms to file a motion to stop the garnishment. You are asking the court, not the creditor, to find the wages or funds exempt and to stop or reduce the withholding.

After you file your motion to stop the garnishment, the court considers whether the wages or funds are exempt, and the creditor must justify keeping them. If the court agrees the money is protected, it stops or reduces the garnishment and releases protected funds. Because money is withheld while the motion is pending, filing within the 20-day window limits what you lose.