Can I Get a Cash Advance on My Lawsuit in Kansas?

By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.

A new law for 2026

The act was approved April 9, 2026, and says it takes effect “from and after its publication in the statute book” (2026 Kan. Sess. Laws ch. 130). KCTV5 listed it among the Kansas laws in effect July 1, 2026. Check the date on your contract.

The act covers a “consumer,” meaning “a natural person who resides or is domiciled in Kansas” and “is a plaintiff in a civil action in Kansas,” a definition that “includes the estate of a decedent who was domiciled in Kansas at the time of death” when the case is a wrongful death claim. Consumer legal funding is a nonrecourse deal in which a company buys a contingent right to part of your case proceeds and you use the money for personal or household expenses; litigation costs are excluded. “Charges” means everything you pay above the funded amount, including fees and interest, however labeled.

What the contract must contain

Section 3 of the act requires plain language, a contract filled in completely before you sign, and your initials on every page. In at least 12-point bold type, the contract must tell you that you “may cancel this contract without penalty or further obligation within 10 business days after the funding date,” by returning the full amount disbursed. The front page must show the funded amount, each one-time charge, the maximum you could owe and a payment schedule in six-month steps. A box must say “THE FUNDED AMOUNT AND AGREED UPON CHARGES SHALL BE PAID ONLY FROM THE PROCEEDS OF YOUR LEGAL CLAIM.”

Other section 3 rules:

• If you take more than one contract from the same company, it must disclose the combined amount due.
• If English is not your primary language, on written request the contract must be translated into the language used in the negotiations.
• Prepayment penalties and fees are banned.
• The amount owed “shall be a predetermined amount based upon intervals of time from the funding date through the resolution date,” not a percentage of your recovery.
• A compliant contract “is not a loan and is not subject to any provision of law governing loans or investment contracts.”
• You or your lawyer must disclose the contract to a party or insurer that asks within 30 days of a written request, and make a continuing disclosure within 30 days of signing.

Example only: suppose a contract funds $5,000 and its schedule lists one fixed amount for each six-month period. If the case resolves in month 8, you owe the amount printed for months 6 to 12, whether the settlement is $20,000 or $200,000. The schedule in your contract decides the figures, and Kansas sets no ceiling on them.

Your lawyer’s signature, and money from your lawyer

Your lawyer must sign an acknowledgment covering six points: the lawyer reviewed the required disclosures with you, works on a written contingency fee agreement, will pay out the proceeds through a trust account or settlement fund, must pay the funder from the proceeds and carry out the contract, has received and will receive no referral fee, and gave you no tax, benefit planning or financial advice about the deal. Without it, the contract is “null and void.” It stays valid if you later change lawyers. The section-wide rules on lawyer sign-off are in does my lawyer have to sign a funding contract.

Kansas wrote one rule about lawyers into this act itself: section 4(b)(1) bars your lawyer from providing “consumer legal funding, loans or advances for personal needs” to you or to a prospective client. A lawyer who represents you, or who referred you, generally may not own a stake in the funding company, and your lawyer may share confidential information with the funder only with your written consent. More on lawyer money in can my lawyer give me money before settlement.

What funding companies may not do

Section 4(a) through (e) bar a funding company from:

• paying or accepting referral fees with lawyers, law firms, medical providers, chiropractors or physical therapists;
• false or misleading advertising;
• funding you while another company’s contract is unpaid, unless a lesser payoff is agreed in writing or you and your lawyer consent to both;
• influencing the lawsuit or settlement, which stay with you and your lawyer;
• asking you to waive any right, including a jury trial;
• paying court costs, filing fees or attorney fees from the funding;
• offering money to get you to change lawyers;
• helping with a claim it knows is fabricated or brought in bad faith;
• accepting money from a foreign government or foreign adversary.

The company-control rule is explained across states in can a funding company control my case.

Registration, penalties and complaints

Every consumer legal funding company must register with the Kansas Secretary of State under K.S.A. 17-7901 and following (section 4(f)). Enforcement belongs to the Attorney General. After notice and a hearing under the Kansas Administrative Procedure Act, a willful violation carries “a civil penalty of not to exceed $10,000 per violation,” and the company loses the right to recover the funded amount and any charges under the contract.

If you believe a company broke the act, contact the Kansas Attorney General’s office and tell your lawyer.

A separate 2025 law, Substitute for SB 54, amended K.S.A. 60-226 so that a party with a “third-party litigation funding agreement” must serve a sworn statement and give the agreement to the court for private review within 30 days. Ask your lawyer whether it reaches your contract.

Keep your deadline in view. K.S.A. 60-513(a) requires most injury suits, including “an action for injury to the rights of another, not arising on contract,” to be “brought within two years.”

What to ask before you sign

• Are you registered with the Kansas Secretary of State?
• What is the maximum I could owe, and what is the amount for each six-month period?
• When exactly does my 10-business-day cancellation window end?
• Has my lawyer signed the acknowledgment?
• Do I have any other funding contract with you?

Our funding contract red flags list, the cost page, the state law table and the lawsuit cash advance guide have more.

Common questions

Related pages

Cash advance on a lawsuit · Laws by state · Injury law FAQs

Important: This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; talk to a lawyer about yours. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: November 7, 2026.