58-3061. Trust accounts.
58-3061
58-3061. Trust accounts.(a) Unless exempt under subsection (f), each broker shall maintain, inthe broker's name or the broker's firmname, a separate trust account in this state, or in an adjoining statewith written permission of the commission, designated as such.All down payments, earnest money deposits, advance listing fees or othertrust funds received in a real estate transaction by the broker or by thebroker's associate brokers or salespersons on behalf of a principal or anyother person shall be deposited or invested in such account unless all partieshavingan interest in the funds have agreed otherwise in writing. The accountshall be with an insured bank or savings and loan association or creditunion which is insured with an insurer or guarantee corporation as requiredunder K.S.A. 17-2246 and amendments thereto. A broker shall not retainany interest accrued on moneys held in an interest-bearing trust accountwithout the written consent of all parties to the transaction.
(b) Each broker shall notify the commission of the name of the bank,credit union or savings and loan association in which the trust accountis maintained and of the account name by completing a consent to auditform obtained from the commission. A broker may maintain more than onetrust account if the commission is advised of each such account as requiredby this subsection and authorized to examine all such accounts. If aseparate trust account is maintained for a branch office, the branch brokershall maintain trust account records required by rules and regulations ofthe commission and all transaction files related to the branch office trustaccount.
(c) Each broker shall grant full access to all records pertaining to thebroker's trust account to the commission and its duly authorizedrepresentatives. A trust account examination shall be made at such time as thecommission directs.
(d) No payments shall be made from the broker's trust accountother than a withdrawal of earned commissions payable to the broker ordistributions made on behalf of the beneficiaries of the trust account. Abroker shall not be entitled to any part of the earnest money orother money paid to the broker in connection with any real estate transactionas part or all of the broker's commission or fee until the transaction hasbeen consummated or terminated unless otherwise agreed in writing by allparties to the transaction.
(e) A broker shall make available, for inspection by the commission andits duly authorized representatives, all records relating to the broker'sreal estate business. Such records shall be kept in a form and for a termprescribed by the commission. An inspection shall be made at such timeas the commission directs.
(f) The requirement of maintaining a trust account shall not apply to: (A)A broker whose license is on deactivated status; (B) a broker who acts as anassociate broker; (C) a broker who is an officer of a corporation, a member ofan association or a partner of a partnership and who is not the supervisingbroker of an office of the corporation, association or partnership; or (D) abroker whose real estate activities, in the opinion of the commission, donot necessitate the holding of trust funds.
(g) Upon acceptance of an offer and deposit of earnest money in abroker's trust account, such deposit may be disbursed only:
(1) Pursuant to written authorization of buyer and seller;
(2) pursuant to a court order; or
(3) when a transaction is closed according to the agreement of the parties.
(h) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the parties to a realestate contract from agreeing, in the sales contract,to the following procedure:
"Notwithstanding any other terms of this contract providing forforfeiture or refund of the earnest money deposit, the parties understandthat applicable Kansas real estate laws prohibit the escrow agent fromdistributing the earnest money, once deposited, without the consent of allparties to this agreement. Buyer and seller agree that failure by either torespond in writing to a certified letter from broker within seven days ofreceipt thereof or failure to make written demand for return or forfeitureof an earnest money deposit within 30 days of notice of cancellation ofthis agreement shall constitute consent to distribution of the earnestmoney as suggested in any such certified letter or as demanded by the otherparty hereto."
(i) The commission may direct a broker to remit moneys from the broker'strust account to the commission for deposit into the real estate recoveryrevolving fund established within the state treasury by K.S.A. 58-3023 andamendments thereto, upon the following determinations having been made by thecommission:
(1) That the money has been in the broker's trust account for five ormore years;
(2) if the money was an earnest money deposit, that an earnest moneydispute existed or the broker did not obtain written authorization of buyer andseller to disburse the funds; and
(3) that the funds do not meet the criteria for payment to the statetreasurer under the disposition of unclaimed property act.
History: L. 1980, ch. 164, § 28; L. 1983, ch. 76, § 7;L. 1986, ch. 209, § 13;L. 1991, ch. 163, § 4; July 1.