Are Beneficiary Designations Protected in Kansas?
Kansas automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorceK.S.A. § 59-610; § 59-105Verified Sep 15, 2026View source; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.
A beneficiary designation on life insurance, a retirement account, a payable-on-death bank account or a transfer-on-death brokerage account decides who receives that asset at death, in Kansas as everywhere. The designation controls over the will or trust, and an outdated one stays in force whatever the other documents say.
Yes. Kansas automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary on divorce for these asset types: life insurance, retirement accounts, pod accounts, tod accounts, annuitiesK.S.A. § 59-610; § 59-105Verified Sep 15, 2026View source. An ERISA-governed employer plan (a 401(k), a pension) follows federal law instead and must be updated by hand whatever the state rule says.
Yes. The federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) preempts state law for an employer-sponsored plan such as a 401(k), a pension or group life insurance: the plan pays the designation on file with the plan administrator, and a qualified plan requires the spouse's consent to name anyone else (Egelhoff v. Egelhoff, 2001; Kennedy v. Plan Administrator, 2009). Kansas sets no spousal-consent requirement of its ownK.S.A. § 59-6a202; § 59-6a205 (elective share — a post-death claim, NOT a consent requirement)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source for an individual account.
Kansas provides no specific creditor protection for inherited IRAsK.S.A. § 60-2308Verified Sep 15, 2026View source. After Clark v. Rameker (2014) held that federal bankruptcy law does not protect an inherited IRA, a state without its own statute leaves it exposed in bankruptcy.
No. Kansas does not default to per stirpes for beneficiary designationsK.S.A. § 9-1215(a); § 17-49a07; § 17-49a10Verified Sep 15, 2026View source: when a named beneficiary dies before the account holder, the share lapses unless the designation says per stirpes or names a contingent beneficiary.
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Divorce
What divorce does and does not undo: beneficiary designations, your will, powers of attorney, and the one account your ex stays on until you change it.
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Marriage
What married couples need in place: one joint trust or two, wills, beneficiary updates, and the spousal rights your state grants you automatically.
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Retirement
Retirement changes your financial picture. Healthcare directives, beneficiary reviews, long-term care planning, and protecting what you've built.
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Serious Diagnosis
A serious diagnosis changes priorities. Healthcare proxies, financial powers of attorney, and the documents that ensure your wishes are honored.
Learn moreForms for Planning Your Estate in Kansas
Free forms for planning your estate in Kansas: a will, living trust, pour-over will, both powers of attorney, living will, and TOD deed.
Last Will and Testament
In Kansas, a will is signed before 2K.S.A. § 59-606Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyK.S.A. § 59-606Verified Oct 18, 2026View source.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
Kansas allows a choice for a healthcare power of attorney: 2K.S.A. 58-632Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses or a notary.
Financial Power of Attorney
Kansas requires explicit durability language for a power of attorney to survive incapacityK.S.A. §§ 58-650 through 58-665Verified Sep 18, 2026View source, and it is signed before a notaryK.S.A. §§ 58-650 through 58-665Verified Sep 18, 2026View source.
Transfer on Death Deed
In Kansas, a transfer on death deed is signed before a notaryK.S.A. 59-3501 to 59-3507Verified Oct 18, 2026View source, then recorded with the county before the owner's deathK.S.A. 59-3501 to 59-3507Verified Oct 18, 2026View source.
Vehicle Transfer on Death
Name a beneficiary to inherit your vehicle at death without probate. Available in 26 states and the District of Columbia.
Living Will
In Kansas, the living will is the DeclarationK.S.A. 65-28,101 to 65-28,109 (natural death act)Verified Sep 27, 2026View source, a document of its own, apart from the healthcare power of attorney.
Tools for Planning Your Estate in Kansas
Free tools for planning your estate in Kansas: what a will or trust costs, whether you need a trust or TOD deed, and how documents are signed.
What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in Kansas runs $3,310Estimate: 10 hours at $331, Clio's Kansas Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $4,965Estimate: 15 hours at $331, Clio's Kansas Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $978Estimate: 3 hours at $326, Clio's Kansas Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $1,956Estimate: 6 hours at $326, Clio's Kansas Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
In Kansas, four years at a public university cost about $78,088NCES Digest of Education Statistics 2023, Table 330.20, public 4-year in-state tuition, fees, room and board, academic year 2022-23Verified Oct 17, 2026View source and the cost of living is 10% below the U.S. averageBEA Regional Price Parities, all items, by state, 2024Verified Oct 17, 2026View source; no state estate or inheritance tax appliesK.S.A. 79-15,254 (estate tax) and K.S.A. 79-15,146 (inheritance tax) — the operative levies (K.S.A. 79-15,201 through 79-15,253, and 79-15,100 through 79-15,145) were repealed effective January 1, 2010 and January 1, 2007 respectively; they applied only to deaths before January 1, 2010.Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Kansas costs an estimated $25,212K.S.A. 59-1717 (fiduciary and attorney compensation "just and reasonable"; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Attorney fees run 1.8%K.S.A. 59-1717 (fiduciary and attorney compensation "just and reasonable"; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source to 2.9%K.S.A. 59-1717 (fiduciary and attorney compensation "just and reasonable"; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Without a will in Kansas, a surviving spouse takes half of the estateK.S.A. 59-504Verified Sep 10, 2026View source when every child of either spouse is a child of both, and descendants divide what passes to them per stirpesK.S.A. 59-506Verified Sep 10, 2026View source.
How Much Does a Revocable Living Trust Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable living trust in Kansas runs $3,310Estimate: 10 hours at $331, Clio's Kansas Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $4,965Estimate: 15 hours at $331, Clio's Kansas Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source for an individual, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
How Much Does a Will Cost?
An attorney-prepared will in Kansas runs $978Estimate: 3 hours at $326, Clio's Kansas Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $1,956Estimate: 6 hours at $326, Clio's Kansas Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $299 up front with an online service, and probate on a $500,000 estate adds about $25,212K.S.A. 59-1717 (fiduciary and attorney compensation "just and reasonable"; no statutory percentage)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source.
How Does SimplyTrust Compare to LegalZoom, Trust & Will, and Other Services?
Compare what it costs to make a trust official across SimplyTrust, LegalZoom, Trust & Will, Rocket Lawyer, and Quicken WillMaker.
How Do I Name a Guardian for My Minor Children?
In Kansas, a parent names a guardian for a minor child in a will or a separate signed writingK.S.A. 59-30,133(b); see also 59-30,128, 59-30,130Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, and the nomination covers the child until the age of majority, 18K.S.A. 38-101Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
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Kansas Estate Planning Resources
In-depth guides covering Kansas probate laws, trust requirements, and estate planning strategies.