DocDraft Logo

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.

0/5000

Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    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.

  2. 2

    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. 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.

  4. 4

    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.

  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 is taken while the issue is open. Because wages are withheld until the court acts on your application, filing quickly limits what you lose.

  7. 7

    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.

Open the Claim of Exemption guide

Customize your Claim of Exemption Template with DocDraft

CLAIM OF EXEMPTION (WEST VIRGINIA - WAGE GARNISHMENT / SUGGESTEE EXECUTION)

Filed as an Application for Vacation or Modification of Suggestee Execution under W. Va. Code section 38-5A-1 et seq., including sections 38-5A-3 and 38-5A-6. The judgment debtor claims that some or all of the earnings or funds being garnished are exempt and asks the court to vacate or modify the suggestee execution and to stop or reduce the garnishment.

  1. COURT AND CASE Court that issued the suggestee execution: [COURT NAME] Case number: [CASE NUMBER]

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

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

  4. EXEMPTION CLAIMED I claim that the money is exempt for the following reason(s): [ ] The amount being withheld is more than W. Va. Code section 38-5A-3 allows (no more than 20 percent of weekly disposable earnings, and never enough to reduce weekly pay below 50 times the federal minimum hourly wage). [ ] The funds come from an exempt source: [SOCIAL SECURITY / DISABILITY / VETERANS BENEFITS / PENSION / OTHER]. [ ] The garnishment causes undue hardship and leaves me unable to pay for basic necessities. 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 ask the court to hold a hearing on this application and to vacate or modify the suggestee execution so the exempt money is protected.

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

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

Note: File this application with the court that issued the suggestee execution. Either party may apply at any time to vacate or modify it, so act quickly once wages are being withheld. Confirm the current form and procedure, or have this reviewed by an attorney, before you file.

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

A West Virginia claim of exemption is how you protect wages or bank funds from a garnishment, which the state calls a suggestee execution. You file an Application for Vacation or Modification of Suggestee Execution with the court that issued it, telling the court that some or all of the money is exempt, meaning the law does not let a creditor take it. Filing it gets you a hearing to show the money is protected.

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 West Virginia the Application for Vacation or Modification of Suggestee Execution lets you both dispute the amount withheld and assert your exemptions to the court.

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. Disposable earnings are what is left after legally required deductions. This protects more of your pay than the federal wage-garnishment limit does.

West Virginia does not set a fixed deadline. Under state law either party may apply to the court that issued the suggestee execution at any time to vacate or modify it. Because wages are withheld while the garnishment runs, do not wait; file your application as soon as you see money being taken or notice that the amount is wrong.

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, a creditor can take no more than 20 percent of disposable earnings and must leave at least 50 times the federal minimum wage. If exempt benefits are frozen in a bank account, a claim of exemption is how you get them released.

West Virginia does not add a separate head-of-household wage exemption, but its wage limit is already protective, capping the levy at 20 percent of disposable earnings and leaving at least 50 times the federal minimum wage. Exempt income such as Social Security and disability stays protected regardless, and you can raise undue hardship in your application to vacate or modify the garnishment.

You file the Application for Vacation or Modification of Suggestee Execution with the court that issued the suggestee execution, using the case number on your garnishment papers. That is the same court that entered the judgment, and it is where the court or judge will hold the hearing on whether your wages or funds are exempt.

After you file the application to vacate or modify, the court or judge conducts a hearing. At the hearing you show that the money is exempt or that the withholding is too high, and the creditor must justify the levy. If the court agrees the funds are protected, it vacates or modifies the suggestee execution and stops or reduces the garnishment.