DocDraft Logo

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.

0/5000

Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    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. 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. 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. 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. 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

    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. 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.

Open the Claim of Exemption guide

Customize your Claim of Exemption Template with DocDraft

CLAIM OF EXEMPTION (VERMONT - WAGE GARNISHMENT / TRUSTEE PROCESS)

Prepared under 12 V.S.A. section 3167 et seq. and section 3170. Vermont holds a hearing before a wage garnishment (trustee process) order is issued. The judgment debtor uses this statement to identify the earnings and funds that are exempt and to establish those exemptions at the hearing.

  1. COURT AND CASE Court that issued the judgment: [COURT NAME] Case number: [CASE NUMBER] Date and time of the scheduled hearing: [HEARING DATE]

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

  3. EXEMPTION CLAIMED I claim that my earnings and funds are exempt for the following reason(s): [ ] This debt arose from a consumer credit transaction, so the greater of 85 percent of my weekly disposable earnings or 40 times the federal minimum hourly wage is exempt (12 V.S.A. section 3170). [ ] This debt is not a consumer credit debt, so the greater of 75 percent of my weekly disposable earnings or 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage is exempt. [ ] The funds come from an exempt source: [SOCIAL SECURITY / DISABILITY / VETERANS BENEFITS / PENSION / OTHER]. [ ] Taking this money would leave me unable to pay for basic necessities. Amount I ask the court to protect each pay period: $[AMOUNT CLAIMED EXEMPT]

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

  5. FINANCIAL STATEMENT (bring supporting records to the hearing) Monthly take-home income: $[INCOME] Monthly necessary expenses: $[EXPENSES] Number of people I support: [NUMBER OF DEPENDENTS]

  6. WHAT I AM ASKING I ask the court to find that the earnings and funds above are exempt and to deny or limit the garnishment order.

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

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

Note: Vermont has no separate state exemption form; you establish these exemptions at the hearing held before a garnishment order is issued. You are served with notice of the hearing at least 14 days in advance. Confirm the current procedure, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before the hearing.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

A Vermont claim of exemption is how you protect wages or bank funds from a garnishment. Vermont uses a distinctive process: the creditor must get a court order through a hearing before wages are garnished, and you claim your exemptions at that hearing. You tell the court that some or all of the money is exempt, meaning the law does not let a creditor take it.

An objection challenges whether the garnishment is proper, such as a wrong amount or a defect in the paperwork. A claim of exemption accepts that the debt exists but says the specific wages or funds are legally protected. In Vermont you raise both at the pre-garnishment hearing, where the court decides whether a garnishment order should issue and how much of your pay is exempt.

For a consumer credit debt, the greater of 85 percent of your weekly disposable earnings or 40 times the federal minimum hourly wage is exempt under 12 V.S.A. section 3170, so a creditor reaches only the rest. For other debts the exempt share is the greater of 75 percent or 30 times the federal minimum wage. Disposable earnings are what is left after legally required deductions.

Vermont does not set a deadline to file a written claim after being served, because a hearing is held before any garnishment order is issued. You are served with notice of the hearing at least 14 days before the date, and you establish your exemptions at that hearing. Because the hearing decides whether your wages can be garnished at all, prepare and act as soon as you get notice.

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. For wages, Vermont exempts the greater of 85 percent of weekly disposable earnings or 40 times the federal minimum wage on consumer debts. If exempt benefits are frozen in a bank account, a claim of exemption is how you get them released.

Vermont does not add a separate head-of-household exemption on top of its wage limits, but its consumer-debt exemption is already high, protecting the greater of 85 percent of disposable earnings or 40 times the federal minimum wage. Exempt income such as Social Security and disability stays protected regardless, and you can explain your household's needs when you establish exemptions at the hearing.

Vermont has no specific state exemption form to file. You claim your exemptions at the hearing before the court that issued the judgment, where the creditor is asking for a garnishment order. Bring your pay records and proof of any exempt income, since you must establish which earnings are protected at that hearing rather than by filing a separate document.

At the pre-garnishment hearing the court weighs your exemptions and decides whether a garnishment order should issue and how much of your pay, if any, a creditor can reach. If you show your earnings are protected, the court limits or denies the garnishment. Because you must establish the exemption at the hearing, being prepared with documents is what protects your wages.