Handling Abandoned Personal Belongings

Summary

In Nebraska, when personal belongings are left at your house, you are required to hold onto the property for a reasonable amount of time before considering it abandoned. Document your attempts to contact the owners. Send a final notice via certified mail, stating your intention to consider the property as abandoned if not claimed within a certain period, typically 30 days from the date of the final notice. If the owners trespass to retrieve their items, you can call the police. You should not hand over their items without their prior agreement or court order. If the value of the items is under $250, you may dispose of the items after the abandonment period.

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We had some now ex-friends leave some personal belongings at our house, and have tried contacting them several times to try and assist them in retrieving it. They live a few states away but are now refusing to discuss it with us. I'm wondering what our steps should be and how long we need to wait until it is considered abandoned.
What state are you currently residing in, ****? Laws regarding abandoned property can vary by state.
Nebraska
What kind of personal belongings are we talking about? In Nebraska, the law generally requires you to hold onto the property for a reasonable amount of time before considering it abandoned.
* candles, a candle holder, a pair of shoes with insoles, a pair of socks, a bottle of cologne, a bottle of body wash, a bottle of pet shampoo, a small bag of mouse food, a pocket-sized hand sanitizer, some receipts from purchases, a pen, and some plastic and paper bags
Have you documented your attempts to contact them about their belongings? In Nebraska, it's important to have proof of these attempts.
Every contact attempt occurred over text messges
What is the date of your last contact attempt with them? In Nebraska, a reasonable amount of time is typically considered to be 30 days.
Sunday, August 6th. The last response or acknowledgement we received was the day before, on Saturday, August 5th
Have you sent a final notice to them stating your intention to consider the property as abandoned if not claimed within a certain period?
No not yet. We were waiting to find out what steps we should take which is why I contacted this site
What is the contact information of the person who left their belongings at your place? It's important to send a final notice via certified mail.
Okay. Why do you need their contact information? I'm sorrry I'm just confused
We don't need their contact information. We asked to ensure you have it for sending a final notice via certified mail, as required by Nebraska law for abandoned property.
Oh okay. Thank you for explaining. Yes, we have their contact information
Great! Now, you should send them a final notice via certified mail, stating your intention to consider the property as abandoned if not claimed within a certain period.
Okay great. What would be an appropriate time period we should give them?
In Nebraska, a reasonable time period is typically considered to be 30 days from the date of the final notice.
The date that we send the final notice in the mail? Or the date that they receive the final notice?
The date you send the final notice in the mail is considered the start of the *-day period in Nebraska.
Does certified mail mean it needs to be notarized?
No, certified mail does not need to be notarized. It simply provides proof of mailing and delivery with a receipt.
Okay great thank you. We will do thagt
You're welcome, ****. If you need further assistance, feel free to ask. Good luck with your situation.
Thank you. I do have another question. Due to their aggressive behaviors that have the potential to turn violent, our landlord has banned them from the property. I am worried that after they receive the certified letter they will drive here, they live in Illinois, and come to the property in an attempt to retrieve their things. What would our options be if that does occur? Should we let them know in the letter they are legally not allowed on the property? Are we allowed to call the police if they do come to the property?
Have you informed them about the ban from your landlord in any of your previous communications?

In Nebraska, if someone is banned from a property and they trespass, you can call the police. Include the ban information in your letter.
No. Because we were under the impression that as soon as we had everything packaged, they were going to pay us so we could mail them their things, we included a letter inside the box informing them of the ban. However, because the package was never sent and the letter was placed inside before the package was sealed, it is still here.
Have you considered sending the package with their belongings and the letter informing them of the ban via certified mail? This could potentially avoid any direct confrontation.
We cannot afford the cost of the postage required to mail their belongings because of the weight and size of the package. When originally discussing how they wanted to retrieve their things, instead of driving out here or meeting somewhere, they chose for us to mail their things and agreed to pay for shipping.
Have you considered asking them to arrange and pay for a courier service to pick up their belongings from your place?
No because they've stopped responding to our messages, and they still owe us the cost of the materials required to safely package their belongings as several of them are fragile items.
Have you considered seeking legal advice on potentially selling the items to cover the cost of packaging and any outstanding debts they may owe you?
We had considered it, however, we were going to do that in the event that they continued to not respond and we could consider the property abandoned, which is why I was reaching out. Is that something we should do instead? Notify them we're selling the items to pay us back?
What is the total value of the items left behind? In Nebraska, you may be able to sell the items after the abandonment period, but it's important to consult with a local attorney.
We are not entirely sure as they did not leave receipts or disclose prices to us.
What is the estimated value of the items? In Nebraska, if the value is under $*, you may dispose of the items after the abandonment period.
Several of the items were used, and I tried to find as many of the prices as I could. If everything was brand new the best estimate I could come up with was about $*, but since several were used already I would estimate it all to be about $*
What is the total amount they owe you for the packaging materials?
Total for packaging materials was about $*, and shipping costs about $*, so about $* total if we were to pay for the shipping
Have you considered deducting the packaging and shipping costs from the estimated value of the items, and then returning the remaining value to them?
Do you mean keeping the items that would equal the total cost of packaging and shipping of about $*, and then shipping them the remaining items that total about the $* left over?
Yes, that's correct. However, it's important to notify them about this arrangement in your final notice. If they don't respond, you can proceed after the abandonment period.
Okay. So regardless of what we could decide to do with the items, we need to send them the final notice letter via certified mail, give them 30 days from the date the letter is sent to respond, and if they don't respond within that time frame we are then legally allowed to do what we wish with the items?
Yes, that's correct. Make sure to keep a copy of the final notice and the receipt from the certified mail as proof.
Okay. We will do that. We will also include the ban in the letter. If they ignore the ban and come to the property, they are trespassing and we are allowed to call the police to have them escorted off the property. If that occurs and they trespass, what would be our options regarding their items?
If they trespass and try to retrieve their items, you can call the police. However, you should not hand over their items without their prior agreement or court order.
Okay. So if they trespass and we call the police, do we still wait the 30 days from the letter? Or would that situation complicate things?
Yes, you should still wait the 30 days from the letter. Trespassing does not change the abandonment period.
Okay great. Thank you so much for all your help!! I will reach out if we have any other questions.
You're welcome, ****! Don't hesitate to reach out if you have more questions. Good luck with your situation.