West Virginia Claim of Exemption
File a West Virginia claim of exemption to protect wages from a suggestee execution garnishment. Learn what pay is exempt and how to apply to vacate or modify it.
Introduction
A West Virginia 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. In West Virginia wage garnishment is called a suggestee execution. After a creditor wins a judgment, it can place a continuing levy on your wages and take a share of each paycheck. If the amount is wrong or the garnishment causes hardship, either party may apply to the court at any time to vacate or modify it, using the Application for Vacation or Modification of Suggestee Execution. West Virginia protects most of your pay, letting a creditor take no more than 20 percent of your weekly disposable earnings and never enough to drop you below 50 times the federal minimum wage. Exempt income like Social Security is off limits no matter the debt. DocDraft prepares a West Virginia 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 West Virginia claim of exemption is how you tell the court that some or all of the wages or funds being garnished are exempt, meaning the law does not let a creditor take them. In West Virginia you raise it with an Application for Vacation or Modification of Suggestee Execution.
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There is no fixed filing deadline. Under W. Va. Code section 38-5A-6 either party may apply to the court that issued the suggestee execution at any time to vacate or modify it, so act quickly once you see money being withheld.
- 3
West Virginia protects most of your pay. Under W. Va. Code section 38-5A-3 a creditor can take no more than 20 percent of your weekly disposable earnings, and the levy can never reduce your weekly pay below 50 times the federal minimum hourly wage.
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The basic wage exemption is automatic. Your employer should apply the limit on its own, so you mainly file the application if the withholding is calculated incorrectly or the garnishment causes undue hardship.
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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 is taken while the issue is open. Because wages are withheld until the court acts on your application, filing quickly limits what you lose.
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Filing gets you a hearing. After you file the application to vacate or modify, the court or judge conducts a hearing where you show the money is protected and the creditor must justify the levy.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Claim of Exemption in West Virginia, 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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West Virginia Requirements for Claim of Exemption
West Virginia Filing Deadline and Office
File the West Virginia claim of exemption with the correct office, the court or the levying officer as West Virginia 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.