© Bruce C. Ward  January 2001

New Garnishment Laws

Beginning January 1, 2001, the Kansas law on wage garnishments will change significantly:

1.  Wage garnishments filed in Kansas will be continuing and will remain in effect until the judgment is paid or the garnishment is released.  Under prior law, wage garnishments only last for 30 days and must be refiled every 30 days.

2.  Multiple wage garnishments can be in effect against the same defendant and same employer.  For instance, if four creditors each have a judgment against Joe Blow, each creditor can file a garnishment against Joe's wages.  Each garnishment will be effective and the four creditors will share equally in the money withheld from Joe's wages.

3.  The employer will no longer file an answer with the court.  Instead, on the 15th of each month, the employer will complete an answer and send it to the judgment debtor and to all judgment creditors who have garnishments pending against the debtor.

4.  Money withheld under wage garnishments will not be paid to the court but instead will be paid directly to the garnishing creditor each month.
 
 

Furniture Left Behind by Tenants

Landlords are often perplexed with what to do with furniture and clothes left behind by a tenant who has either skipped or has been evicted.

Here is what I suggest:

1.  First, separate the trash from the truly valuable stuff.  You can clean up and throw away the trash.  If in doubt, take pictures of everything if questions arise later.

2.  Give the tenant a reasonable opportunity to remove their belongings.  If you are a residential landlord, you do not have a lien against these things.

3.  If the property is not claimed by the tenant, hold the property at least 30 days after you take possession of it.

4.  Then publish the a notice in the newspaper at least 15 days prior to the date you intend to sell or dispose of the property.  Contact my office if you need a form for the notice.

5.  Within 7 days after publication of the notice, mail a copy of the notice to the tenant at the last known address, and to any secured creditor you know who claims an interest in any of the property.

6.  Once 15 days has expired after publication, you can sell or otherwise dispose of the property without obligation to the tenant.  Any sales proceeds should be applied in this order:

 (a) To the reasonable expenses of taking, holding, preparing for sale or disposition, giving notice and selling or disposing thereof;

 (b) to the satisfaction of any amount due from the tenant to the landlord for rent or otherwise; and,

 (c) the balance, if any, may be retained by the landlord, without liability to the tenant or to any other person, other than a secured creditor who gave notice of creditors interest to you, for any profit made as a result of a sale or other disposition of such property.

At any time before the property is sold or disposed of, the tenant can claim the property by paying to you all money due to you from the tenant, including rent, damages, and the expenses of taking and storing the property and preparing it for sale.