What to Do When Someone Dies in Johnson County, Kansas

When someone dies in Johnson County, Kansas, an estate that needs probate is opened with the District Court in Olathe, for a $133 filing fee.

The first days Funeral homes Probate Serving as executor Property and debts Taxes and benefits Attorneys

The First Days After a Death in Johnson County

A certified copy of the death certificate from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment costs $20, and each additional copy ordered at the same time costs $20. The coroner for Johnson County is the Johnson County Medical Examiner's Office.

Who controls the funeral and the burial or cremation follows an order set by law: surviving spouse, then surviving adult children, then surviving parent. An agent the person named in advance comes before that order. Cremation carries no statutory minimum waiting period.

Vital Records Office Record

Kansas Department of Health and Environment - Office of Vital Statistics

Johnson County · State vital records office

Phone

1-785-296-1400

kdhe.vitalrecords@ks.gov

Hours

Monday-Friday 9:00 AM-4:00 PM (except holidays)

Office

Curtis State Office Building, 1000 Southwest Jackson, Suite 120, Topeka, KS 66612-2221

Website

Vital records page →

Certified copies

From Kansas Department of Health and Environment - Office of Vital Statistics

Mail

Office of Vital Statistics Curtis State Office Building 1000 Southwest Jackson Suite 120 Topeka, KS 66612-2221

Phone

1-785-296-1400Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM (except holidays)

Verified October 15, 2026 · Source

Coroner or Medical Examiner Record

Coroner

Johnson County · Johnson County Medical Examiner's Office

Phone

1-913-826-3510

dhe-johnsoncountymeo@jocogov.org

Hours

Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM

Office

11894 South Sunset Drive, Olathe, KS 66061

Website

Office website →

Release of remains

1-913-826-3511 · Investigations

Open in Google Maps

Mail and offices

Fax

1-913-715-2547

Verified November 2, 2026 · Source

ToolsWhat Do I Do When Someone Dies? · How Do I Settle an Estate? · How Many Death Certificates Do I Need? · How Much Does a Funeral Cost?

Funeral Homes in Johnson County

Johnson County has 19 funeral homes and crematories, in 10 cities: 15 list cremation, 11 list pre-need arrangements, 6 list burial and 4 list veterans services.

Cedar Crest Memorial Chapel

32665 Lexington Avenue, De Soto, KS 66018

De Soto funeral home trading as Cedar Crest Memorial Chapel & Cremation Concepts, whose owner is also its funeral director. It keeps a list of recommendations for religious ceremonies, floral arrangements and cemeteries.

Cremation

1-913-583-1002

Bruce Funeral Home – Gardner

106 South Center Street, Gardner, KS 66030

Gardner funeral home in the Bruce family since 1949, recognized as the oldest continuously owned business established in Johnson County. It occupies an 1895 brick house to which a large chapel, a family room, a music room and a second chapel were added in 1962, and the firm has a monument sales division.

Pre-need arrangements

1-913-856-7111

Mid States Cremation

7925 Darnell Lane, Lenexa, KS 66215

Lenexa cremation provider whose own licensed staff carry out each cremation at its own crematory facility, with no third-party cremation operator. Arrangements are made through its website, by email or over the phone.

Branch locationCremation

1-913-815-8001

Porter Crematory

8535 Monrovia, Lenexa, KS 66215

Crematory added in the fall of 2003 to the Porter funeral home in Lenexa, with a viewing area beside it for those who wish to be present during a cremation. Open for inspection, and run by staff trained and certified by the Cremation Association of North America.

CrematoryCremation

1-913-438-6444

Porter Funeral Home and Crematory

8535 Monrovia, Lenexa, KS 66215

Lenexa funeral home and crematory of the Porter family, who have offered funeral care in the Kansas City area since 1902. The crematory, added in the fall of 2003, has a viewing area beside it for families who wish to be present, is open for inspection, and is run by staff trained and certified by the Cremation Association of North America.

BurialCremationPre-need arrangementsVeterans services

1-913-438-6444

Charter Funerals of Kansas

10250 W. 63rd Street, Merriam, KS 66203

Merriam chapel of Charter Funerals, listed as its Shawnee Mission location, from a company that began in the Kansas City area in 1995 and runs six funeral homes and four cemeteries in Kansas and Missouri.

BurialCremationPre-need arrangements

1-816-921-5555

See all 19 funeral homes in Johnson County →

Probate in Johnson County

Probate cases in Johnson County are filed with the District Court in Olathe, in the 10th Judicial District. Opening a probate case in Johnson County costs $133 on the court's own fee schedule.

Probate in Kansas typically takes 9 months to 15 months. In Kansas, estates valued at $75,000 or less skip probate with the Small Estates Affidavit. Creditors have 4 months to present a claim, counted from the first publication of the notice to creditors.

Probate Court Record

Johnson County District Court

Johnson County · 10th Judicial District

Phone

1-913-715-3300

Hours

Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-noon and 1:00 PM-4:30 PM

Office

150 West Santa Fe Street, Olathe, KS 66061

Website

Court website →

E-filing

Required for attorneys

Self-represented filing

Allowed

Self-help forms

Court forms packet

Open in Google Maps

E-filing

Required for attorneysKansas-licensed attorneys must file every document electronically through Kansas Courts eFiling, which Johnson County joined on November 5, 2024, in place of its own county system. Self-represented filers file paper documents and do not register for an eFiling account.

Self-represented filing

AllowedSelf-represented filers may file in person at the clerk's office, by mail, by fax or in the court drop box. A filing left in the drop box by 4:00 p.m. is filed that day. In probate, a new case with a filing fee may be faxed with the court's fax payment form, and filings with no fee may be emailed to the probate clerks.

Accepted payment

At the counterCash, Check, Money order, Credit card, Debit card.At the counter the clerk takes cash, checks, money orders and credit or debit cards, and a card payment, in person or by fax, carries a $4.95 processing fee. Checks, money orders and cashier's checks are payable to Clerk of the District Court, and no payment is taken by email. Filings sent by mail or left in the drop box are paid by check or money order, and fax filings by credit or debit card.

Self-help center

150 W. Santa Fe St., 1st Floor, Olathe, KS 660611-913-715-3385 · dcc-helpcenter@jocogov.org · Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-noon and 1:00 PM-4:30 PMCourt clerks staff the help center: they explain the forms, review and file them and have computers for preparing documents, but they do not give legal advice. Its forms cover mostly family law, with some help on guardian and conservator reports and adoptions. Legal Aid volunteers see people there on Thursdays by appointment, booked by email to the help center.

Verified October 15, 2026 · Source

Fee and Accounting Rules in Johnson County

The duty to account cannot be waived. The court holds that the personal representative's duty to account cannot be waived and must be met before the estate is settled. Personal bonds are not accepted where a bond is required, except as Supreme Court Rule 114 allows.

What Probate Costs in Johnson County

Probate on a $500,000 estate in Kansas costs an estimated $25,212, counting the court fee, the executor's and the attorney's pay, the bond and publication.

State

Real Estate

Other Assets

Debts & Liabilities

Assets Passing Outside Probate

Date of Death

Estimate the cost of probate

Enter the estate value to see Kansas attorney fees, executor fees, court costs and the timeline.

Examples:

General information about probate costs, not legal or financial advice. Fee bases vary by state and may use gross estate, personal property, inventory value or net property after debts. Actual costs vary by county, attorney and estate complexity. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions.

Free formsSmall Estate Affidavit →

ToolsDo I Need Probate? · How Much Does Probate Cost? · Who Inherits Without a Will? · What Is the Estate's Personal Property Worth for Probate?

Serving as Executor in Johnson County

The court's appointment comes as Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (no will). A person can apply for the appointment without a lawyer. An estate can be administered independently of court supervision. A bond is required by default before letters issue, and a will can waive it.

Notice to creditors is published in a newspaper for 3 consecutive weeks, and known creditors are sent it directly. The estate inventory is due within 30 days of appointment. An executor is paid reasonable compensation from the estate. Probate attorneys are paid reasonable compensation from the estate.

State

County

Estate Value

Date of Death

Is There a Will?

YesNo

Is the Surviving Spouse the Only Heir?

YesNo

Complicating Factors

Includes real estate or investments

Business assets or out-of-state property

Disputed will, creditors, or family conflict

Minor or special needs beneficiaries

See whether you can file probate yourself

Enter the estate value to see whether Kansas lets a self-represented person open probate, what the court requires, and what each route costs.

General information about filing probate without a lawyer, not legal advice. Both routes are priced by the probate cost estimator on the same estate; the attorney fee is the one line that differs. Actual costs vary by county, attorney and estate complexity. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions.

Filing Rules in Johnson County

A probate petition needs an order for hearing. When a petition is filed, the filer obtains a hearing date from the judge's administrative assistant and presents an Order for Hearing for signature, unless every consent, waiver and entry of appearance is filed with the petition. A petition filed without an order for hearing is not set for hearing.

Free formsRenunciation of Executor →Notice to Creditors →Estate Inventory →Estate Closing →

ToolsHow Do I Get Letters Testamentary? · Can I Self-File Probate? · How Much Can an Executor Charge? · What Are the Creditor Claim Deadlines?

Homes, Accounts and Debts in Johnson County

A deed from the personal representative, an affidavit that records a death, or a court order is recorded with the Register of Deeds for Johnson County. Recording a 2-page document there costs $38 in recording fees, before any form fee the office adds. The Register of Deeds accepts electronic recording through CSC, Mobilis, iCounty, Simplifile and ePN. In Kansas a grant to two or more owners, including spouses, creates a tenancy in common unless its language makes clear that a joint tenancy was intended. Where no estate is administered, a surviving joint tenant may also ask the district court to determine the death and the passing of title.

The estate's bank account can be at any bank, in any state. Property the state holds as unclaimed for the person who died is claimed from the Kansas State Treasurer, Unclaimed Property Division. An estate that cannot pay every debt pays them in an order set by statute, in 4 classes.

Recording Office Record

Register of Deeds

Johnson County · Treasury, Taxation and Vehicles Department

Phone

1-913-715-0775

registerofdeeds@jocogov.org

Office

111 South Cherry Street, Suite 1200, Olathe, KS 66061

E-recording

available via CSC, Mobilis, iCounty, Simplifile and ePN

Open in Google Maps

Fees

Recording fees

Base fee (first page)	$21
Each additional page	$17
Transfer tax on a TOD deed	No transfer tax applies to TOD deeds

K.S.A. 28-115(a)(5), (b), (i)

Verified October 16, 2026 · Source

Free formsAffidavit of Death →Letter of Instruction →Digital Assets Recovery Letter →

ToolsWhat Happens to Jointly Owned Property When an Owner Dies? · How Do I Open an Estate Account When Someone Dies? · How Do I Claim a Deceased Person's Unclaimed Property? · What Happens When an Estate Is Insolvent?

Taxes and Benefits

There is no estate tax and no inheritance tax in Kansas. The final state income tax return for the year of death is K-40. The federal estate tax exempts the first $15,000,000 per person.

Social Security pays a one-time death payment of $255 to a surviving spouse who lived in the same household, or else to a spouse or child entitled to survivor benefits for the month of death. A family allowance of up to $75,000 can be paid from the estate to support the family during administration.