Wisconsin Claim of Exemption
File a Wisconsin claim of exemption to protect wages from garnishment. Learn the CV-424 Debtor's Answer, the 80 percent exemption, and how to stop it.
Introduction
A Wisconsin 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. After a creditor wins a judgment, it can serve earnings garnishment forms on your employer to take a share of each paycheck. In Wisconsin you claim your exemption on the Earnings Garnishment Debtor's Answer, form CV-424, and you deliver or mail it to your employer, the garnishee, rather than to the court. You can file the answer at any time before or during the period the garnishment is in effect, so act quickly. Wisconsin exempts 80 percent of your disposable earnings, and if the garnishment would drop your household income below the federal poverty line it is limited to the amount above that line. Exempt income like Social Security is off limits no matter the debt. DocDraft prepares a Wisconsin claim of exemption from your details, and attorney review is available before you file.
0/5000
Key Things to Know
- 1
A Wisconsin claim of exemption is how you tell that some or all of the wages being garnished are exempt, meaning the law does not let a creditor take them. In Wisconsin you raise it on the Earnings Garnishment Debtor's Answer, form CV-424.
- 2
You file with your employer, not the court. Under Wis. Stat. section 812.37 you deliver or mail the Debtor's Answer to the garnishee, your employer, who must then accept the claimed exemption as true and stop or reduce the withholding, pending any court order.
- 3
There is no fixed filing deadline. You may file the answer at any time before or during the effective period of the earnings garnishment, so act as soon as you get the forms to protect more of your pay.
- 4
Wisconsin exempts 80 percent of your pay. Under Wis. Stat. section 812.34, 80 percent of your disposable earnings are exempt from garnishment, so a creditor can reach only the remaining share.
- 5
A poverty-line limit can protect all of your pay. If the garnishment would drop your household income below the federal poverty line, the garnishment is limited to the amount of household income above that line.
- 6
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.
- 7
A hearing happens if the creditor objects. If the creditor disputes your answer, it may file a motion for a hearing with the court, which must be scheduled as promptly as practicable.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Claim of Exemption in Wisconsin, 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 guideCustomize your Claim of Exemption Template with DocDraft
Wisconsin Requirements for Claim of Exemption
Wisconsin Filing Deadline and Office
File the Wisconsin claim of exemption with the correct office, the court or the levying officer as Wisconsin 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.