Kansas

Kansas estates are heard in the District Court of the county where the deceased lived, under
the Kansas Probate Code. But before anything else, note the deadline — it is the shortest in the
country.

Six months, and the will is finished

Under K.S.A. 59-617, no will is effective unless a petition for its probate is filed within six
months of the testator's death. Not four years, as in Texas. Not one year, as in Missouri next
door. Six months.

Miss it and the will cannot be admitted at all: the estate passes under the intestacy rules
instead, to whoever the statute says, regardless of what the deceased wrote. There are narrow
exceptions, but they are narrow. Confirm the current position with the court — and treat a Kansas
will as something to be filed in the first weeks, not when the family feels ready.

This single rule is the most important thing on this page. A grieving family that waits until
after the summer to deal with paperwork can lose the will entirely.

Simplified administration

Kansas offers a simplified estates procedure that reduces court supervision substantially
where the estate qualifies and the interested parties consent. Ask about it early — it is a
different petition, not something to switch to later.

No state death tax

Kansas repealed its estate tax for deaths from 2010, and there is no inheritance tax. Only the
federal return can arise.

Before distributing

Publish the notice to creditors, let the claim period run, settle the final income tax returns,
and account to the court.

Under K.S.A. 59-606 a Kansas will must be in writing and signed at the end by the
testator, or by someone else in the testator's presence and at their express direction. It must
then be attested and subscribed by two or more competent witnesses who either saw the testator
sign or heard them acknowledge the will.

Kansas does not allow holographic wills

A handwritten will is fine if two witnesses attested it. Unwitnessed, it is not valid in
Kansas — the handwriting counts for nothing on its own.

Kansas sits between states that take the opposite view. Oklahoma, Nebraska, Colorado and Missouri
all handle handwritten wills differently, and three of the four accept them. A will carried across
one of those borders needs checking.

The six-month rule shapes everything else

Because a Kansas will must be filed for probate within six months of death, the practical
advice differs from most states:

• Tell more than one person where the original is. A will nobody can find in six months may as
  well not exist.
• Name an executor who can act quickly, and an alternate. Someone travelling, unwell or
  overseas may lose months before they begin.
• Consider whether a revocable trust better suits your situation. A trust does not face the
  six-month probate deadline, which in Kansas is a stronger argument for one than in most states.

Make it self-proving

Attach a self-proving affidavit before a notary, so the will can be admitted without producing a
witness — again, speed matters here.

Also

• A surviving spouse has an elective share whatever the will says.
• Review after a marriage, divorce, birth or a move to Kansas.

Yes. Under K.S.A. 59-1717 every fiduciary is allowed their necessary expenses incurred in
executing the trust, and such compensation for their services, and those of their attorneys, as
is just and reasonable.

Kansas prescribes no percentage and no schedule.

What "just and reasonable" turns on

The size and nature of the estate, the time actually spent, the responsibility assumed, the skill
the work required, the difficulty of any problems encountered, and the results achieved.
Practitioners sometimes propose a percentage as a starting point, but no percentage is prescribed
and the court is free to disregard one.

Note that the statute covers the attorney too

K.S.A. 59-1717 governs the compensation of the fiduciary and their attorneys in the same
breath, and the court looks at the total the estate is paying for administration. An estate paying
substantial legal fees may find the court less willing to allow a full fiduciary fee on top. Ask
at the outset how the two are expected to sit together.

Records decide it

With no schedule to fall back on, contemporaneous time records are the argument. Dated entries
of what was done and how long it took, from the first week.

How it is approved

Compensation is allowed by the District Court on the accounting, or agreed in writing by all the
beneficiaries. Settle it before taking it.

If the will fixes the figure

A will provision governs where the executor accepts the appointment on those terms.

Tax

Compensation is taxable income; an inheritance is not. With no Kansas estate or inheritance
tax for a fee to be deducted against, a family executor who is also a beneficiary usually gains
nothing by taking one. Ask an accountant before deciding.

A Kansas fiduciary is expressly entitled under K.S.A. 59-1717 to their necessary expenses
incurred in executing the trust — reimbursed from the estate, and separate from compensation for
their time.

Normally claimable

• Funeral, burial or cremation, the headstone, and a reasonable reception.
• District Court filing fees, certified letters, certified death certificates, and publication
  of the notice to creditors.
• Attorney's fees, and accountant's fees for the final Form 1040 and any Form 1041.
• Appraisals of real property, farmland, grain in storage, livestock, machinery, vehicles,
  firearms and collections.
• On a farm, the genuine costs of carrying the operation through to harvest where that serves
  the estate — seed, fertiliser, fuel, custom work, drying and storage.
• Valuation of mineral and royalty interests, which appear in many Kansas estates.
• Carrying costs on estate property until sale: insurance, property tax, utilities, security,
  maintenance, lawn care and snow removal.
• Storm, hail and tornado damage mitigation on estate property: tarping, board-up, tree
  removal.
• Cleaning, clearing, storing, moving and shipping contents.
• Travel on estate business at a reasonable rate.
• Bond premiums where the will did not waive bond.

Normally not claimable

• The executor's lost wages, meals near home, or personal spending — that is what compensation is
  for.
• Costs run up for one beneficiary's convenience rather than the estate's.
• Improvements beyond preparing a property for sale as it stands.
• Anything without a receipt.

The rule that decides it

Open an estate bank account and run every payment through it. Start the log the week the
petition goes in — with a six-month filing deadline, the early expenses are incurred in a rush and
they are exactly the ones people forget to record.

Most Kansas estates are administered by a family member with a lawyer retained for the court
steps. A bank trust department or an attorney serving as executor earns its cost in specific
cases — and the six-month deadline is itself an argument for getting help early.

Consider a professional when

• The clock is a problem. If the named executor is elderly, unwell, overseas or simply
  overwhelmed, the six-month filing deadline is unforgiving. A professional who files on time
  is worth more than a family member who loses the will.
• The estate includes a working farm, with land to divide between farming and non-farming
  children and a crop in the ground that cannot wait.
• The estate holds mineral or royalty interests, an operating business, or rental property.
• There is conflict among the beneficiaries, or a will contest looks likely.
• A beneficiary is a minor or incapacitated, so a trust runs for years.
• The named executor lives out of state and cannot attend a county District Court or walk the
  ground.

What it costs

Corporate fiduciaries charge a negotiated percentage with a minimum annual fee. Attorneys
generally bill hourly. Because Kansas prescribes no percentage — and because § 59-1717 governs the
fiduciary's and the attorney's compensation together — ask specifically what the combined cost
will be, in writing.

Middle ground

Appoint a family member, waive bond, and let them retain a Kansas probate attorney at the estate's
expense. Given the deadline, engage the attorney in the first fortnight rather than the fifth
month.

A named executor who does not want the job can decline before letters issue — but they should
say so quickly, so an alternate can file in time.