If My Landlord Isn't Fixing My Apartment, Can I Withhold My Rent?

A major tenants make in residential lease disputes is their withholding rent due to important and necessary repairs not being made by the landlord.

Under Nebraska’s Landlord Tenant Act, a landlord has the right to evict a tenant for non-payment of rent, even if the leased premises are uninhabitable due to repairs that haven’t been performed. The eviction process focuses exclusively on whether or not the tenant paid the rent owed under the terms of the lease agreement/agreement of the parties, and if that payment was timely.

A tenant can potentially recover damages from a landlord for expenses incurred due to the failure of the landlord to make necessary repairs (that have been communicated to the landlord by the tenant), but that process is done by the tenant filing a separate lawsuit in Small Claims Court. Small Claims Court allows parties to bring claims without having attorneys representing each side (in fact, attorneys are not allowed to represent clients in Small Claims Court).

More info on the Nebraska Landlord Tenant Act can be found at this information booklet put together by Legal Aid of Nebraska. CLICK HERE FOR BOOKLET

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Retired Military Pay and Benefits In Divorce Proceedings

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Like in any community, rumors and half-truths are common in the military.  An area where this is especially true is with the entitlement to retired pay and benefits as part of a divorce.  A practitioner with a divorce client from the military will likely face inaccurate assumptions from their clients when retirement pay is at issue.

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My Previous Tenant Left His Personal Property Behind…What Do I Do?

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My Previous Tenant Left His Personal Property Behind…What Do I Do?

Jack has been a long time tenant of residential property owned by Jill.  Over the years Jack has accumulated a lot of personal property and could be considered by some to be a rat pack.  Unfortunately Jack loses his job and can no longer afford the rent.  Unable to pay the rent, Jill is forced to file a lawsuit to evict Jack from the premises.  After Jack moves out Jill goes to the property to change the locks and re-take possession.  To her surprise, Jack did not remove all of his possession from the property. With new tenants expected to rent the property in a few weeks, what does Jill do with Jack’s possessions?

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Can Step-Parents Get Custody in Divorce?

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For many people these days, filling the role as stepparent is not an uncommon occurrence when getting married.  Many children come to know a non-biological parent as “Mom” or “Dad” and form a strong bond with these individuals.   Unfortunately, divorce happens. Which raises the question: What rights regarding the children does a stepparent have when he or she divorces the biological parent?   In Nebraska, the stepparent does have rights to visitation and can ask for custody in the divorce proceeding, but in only certain circumstances will their rights to custody trump those of the biological parent.