Vermont Claim of Exemption
Claim your Vermont wage exemptions to stop a garnishment. Learn the pre-garnishment hearing, the 85 percent consumer-debt exemption, and what pay is protected.
Introduction
A Vermont 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. Vermont's process is unusual: before any wages can be garnished through trustee process, the creditor must ask the court and a hearing is held, and you claim your exemptions at that hearing rather than filing an objection after money is taken. You are served with notice of the hearing at least 14 days before the date. Vermont protects a large share of pay, especially for consumer debts, where the greater of 85 percent of your weekly disposable earnings or 40 times the federal minimum wage is exempt. Exempt income like Social Security is off limits no matter the debt. Because you establish your exemptions at the hearing, prepare and act as soon as you get notice. DocDraft prepares a Vermont 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 Vermont claim of exemption is how you tell the court that some or all of the wages or funds a creditor wants to garnish are exempt, meaning the law does not let the creditor take them. In Vermont you raise these exemptions at a court hearing.
- 2
Vermont holds a hearing before wages are garnished. The creditor must file a motion and the court holds a hearing before any wage garnishment order is issued, and you are served with notice at least 14 days before that hearing. There is no separate post-garnishment filing deadline, so act as soon as you get notice.
- 3
Consumer debts get strong protection. For a debt from a consumer credit transaction, the greater of 85 percent of your weekly disposable earnings or 40 times the federal minimum hourly wage is exempt from garnishment under 12 V.S.A. section 3170.
- 4
Other debts follow a lower floor. For debts that are not consumer credit, the greater of 75 percent of your weekly disposable earnings or 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage is exempt.
- 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.
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There is no special state exemption form. You make your claim orally or with supporting evidence at the hearing before the court that issued the judgment, so gather your pay records and proof of exempt income ahead of time.
- 7
You must establish the exemption at the hearing. Vermont law puts the burden on you to show which earnings are protected, so being prepared with documents and, if you choose, an attorney matters.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Claim of Exemption in Vermont, 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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Vermont Requirements for Claim of Exemption
Vermont Filing Deadline and Office
File the Vermont claim of exemption with the correct office, the court or the levying officer as Vermont 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.