What Do I Do When Someone Dies in Kansas?
A step-by-step checklist for the days, weeks, and months after a death, with the state's rules, deadlines, fees, and official forms noted on the steps they apply to. Free PDF.
Frequently Asked Questions
Request 10-15 certified copies from the funeral home or state vital records office. You will need these for banks, insurance companies, government agencies, and other institutions. Each institution typically requires an original certified copy. Order from Kansas Department of Health and Environment - Office of Vital Statistics. Fee: $20/copy ($20 additional). Available: online, phone, mail, in-person. Processing: 3 business days for internet requests.
State law sets the order of who has the legal right to decide burial, cremation, or other disposition. A written pre-need designation by the deceased, if one exists, controls. Confirm who holds this authority before arrangements are made. State law sets the order of who controls disposition of remains. Order: Agent designated in a durable power of attorney for health care decisions (K.S.A. 58-625 et seq.) with authority over disposition; then Surviving spouse; then Surviving adult children; then others in statutory order. A written pre-need designation by the deceased, if one exists, controls over this order.
Evaluate whether the estate qualifies for small estate procedures or if full probate is required based on asset values and types. Small estate affidavit available for estates under $75,000. Independent administration reduces court oversight.
Submit the original will (if any) and petition to open probate. You will need to pay filing fees and may need to post a bond. Statewide form: Petition for Probate of Will and Issuance of Letters Testamentary / Petition for Administration. File with the District Court (sitting in probate). E-filing is not open to self-represented filers. Filing fee $132. Independent administration reduces court supervision. Typical duration: 6-18 months.
Once appointed by the court, obtain letters testamentary (with will) or letters of administration (without will). These prove your authority. Letters Testamentary are issued by the District court, after a hearing: the court appoints the executor or administrator and fixes bond, and letters issue once the appointee files the required oath and bond. The state's title for the role is Personal Representative (executor if testate, administrator if intestate). Typically filed with the petition: Original will and any codicils — K.S.A. 59-2220: "The will shall accompany the petition if it can be produced." A petition to probate a lost or destroyed will "shall contain a statement of the provisions of the will."; Surviving spouse's consent to the will, if one was executed — K.S.A. 59-2220: the petition "may also state whether a surviving spouse has executed a consent to the will, in which event the consent shall accompany the petition if the consent can be produced."; Petition stating the heirs/devisees, the general character and probable value of the real and personal property, and the person for whom letters are prayed (K.S.A. 59-2219); Statement on the petition whether administration is sought under the Kansas simplified estates act, and if so one or more reasons for seeking it (K.S.A. 59-2219(5)); Bond of not less than 125% of the personal property and probable annual income from real estate, unless excused by the will or by written waiver of all known heirs / all devisees and legatees (K.S.A. 59-1101, 59-1104); Oath of the appointed executor or administrator, filed after appointment — letters do not issue until it is on file (K.S.A. 59-2227: "Upon filing of the oath and bond as required by law, letters shall issue."; K.S.A. 59-2232: neglect for ten days after notice of appointment "to file the oath and bond required by law ... shall be deemed a refusal to serve"); Case-filing cover sheet with a new case, and — in a county operating under the Kansas eCourt Rules — a Self-Represented Litigant Certification (Judicial Council form OJA 218) with each document filed without an attorney (Supreme Court Temporary Rule for Filing in a District Court by a Self-Represented Litigant).
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Death of a Parent
A step-by-step guide to what happens after a parent dies: the documents to find, the certificates to order, and whether probate is even required.
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Loss of a Spouse
What a surviving spouse needs to do: death certificates, survivor benefits, whether probate is even required, and the tax election that expires.
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Named as Executor
What an executor actually does: getting appointed, notifying creditors, paying debts and taxes, and where personal liability starts.
Learn more
Named as Trustee
Being named trustee means managing trust assets and carrying out the grantor's wishes. Your duties, timeline, compensation, and how to get started.
Learn moreMore tools for handling this estate
Calculators and checklists for executors and trustees.
Petition for Probate and Letters
Prepare the application to open probate and request Letters Testamentary or of Administration.
Notice to Creditors
Prepare the creditor notice for an estate — the official state form or a notice typeset to statute, plus mailed notices for known creditors.
Renunciation of Executor
Decline an appointment as executor — the writing filed with the court, drafted to your state's rule, with its deadline and filing office.
Affidavit of Heirship
Prepare the sworn statement of a deceased person's family history and heirs for recording in the county land records, composed to your state's statute with its recording instructions.
Small Estate Affidavit
Prepare the affidavit that collects a small estate's property without probate — the official state form or an affidavit drafted to statute, plus a presentation letter for each holder.
Estate Inventory
Prepare the probate inventory of estate property — every asset at its date-of-death value, composed to your state's statute, with the state's filing or delivery instructions.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Estimate attorney fees, executor fees, court costs, and timeline for probating an estate in your state. See if the estate qualifies for simplified probate procedures.
How Much Can an Executor Charge?
Calculate how much an executor (personal representative) can charge for administering an estate. See if your state has statutory fees or uses reasonable compensation.
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Find out who inherits your estate and how much they get if you die without a will. Based on your state's intestate succession laws.
What's Fair Trustee Compensation?
Find out what's fair compensation for serving as trustee. Compare family, professional, and corporate trustee rates based on your situation.
How Much Are Estate & Inheritance Taxes?
Calculate federal estate tax, state estate tax (12 states + DC), and inheritance tax (5 states) for an estate or trust.
How Many Death Certificates Do I Need?
Calculate how many certified death certificates you need based on the assets and accounts you need to close. See state-specific ordering information.
Kansas Estate Settlement Resources
In-depth guides covering Kansas probate, estate administration, and settling an estate.
