Commencement of a bankruptcy case creates an estate. The estate technically becomes the temporary legal owner of all the debtor's property. It consists of all legal or equitable interests of the debtor in property as of the commencement of the case, including property owned or held by another person if the debtor has an interest in the property. Generally speaking, the debtor's creditors are paid from nonexempt property of the estate.

In Kansas, as in other states, the commencement of a bankruptcy case results in the creation of a bankruptcy estate, which is governed by federal law under the Bankruptcy Code. This estate becomes the temporary legal owner of the debtor's property, encompassing all legal or equitable interests of the debtor in property at the time the bankruptcy case is filed. This includes not only property directly owned by the debtor but also property held by others in which the debtor has an interest. The estate is managed by a bankruptcy trustee, who is responsible for liquidating any nonexempt assets and distributing the proceeds to creditors according to the priorities established in the Bankruptcy Code. Kansas has its own set of exemptions that a debtor can choose instead of the federal exemptions, which determine what property the debtor can keep as exempt from the estate. Creditors are generally paid from the nonexempt assets of the estate, and the specific rules and exemptions applicable will depend on whether the debtor chooses the federal exemption scheme or the Kansas state exemptions.