The 18th Judicial District Court Trustee will increase its fees by 1% effective October 1, 2018. K.S.A. 20-380 authorizes the Court Trustee to collect a fee, not to exceed 5% of support collected, to defray the office’s operational expenses. For over 20 years, the Office of the Court Trustee has charged a fee of 2.5%. The costs of technological advancements and employment benefits have increased dramatically in the past 20+ years and the Office of the Court Trustee is simply no longer able to sustain the office utilizing the fee structure developed decades ago.
Therefore, the Chief Judge of the 18th Judicial District, at the request of the Court Trustee, has authorized and ordered a 1% increase to the fee effective October 1, 2018.
The new fee amount continues to be less than the majority of the fees charged by other Trustees throughout Kansas. Two Court Trustee offices charge less than 3.5%, but most charge 4% or 5%. The goal is for the fee to continue to be charged equally to each party, making the effective increase to each party 0.5% (one-half of one percent).
The impact to parties will be minimal, yet will allow the Trustee’s office to continue to process the high volume of cases and transactions in the quality manner the public has come to expect.
Carl G. Wheeler
Court Trustee