Settling Small Estates (KS)
In Kansas, small estates can avoid full probate by using a small estate affidavit, by requesting a refusal to grant letters of administration, or by requesting a simplified probate. Regardless of estate size, probate is not required if an estate contains only assets exempt from probate.
Small Estate Affidavit
If a Kansas estate has a gross probate value <$75,000, you can use the small estate process to settle the estate with no court involvement.
Requirements
To use the small estate process, the assets subject to probate must have a gross value <$40K. In determining gross value of the estate, you should value assets as of the date of death, and ignore any unsecured debts (but do subtract things like liens and mortgages). Do not include any assets that would not normally go through probate, such as community property with right of survivorship, assets with named beneficiaries (e.g., 401Ks, life insurance policies), and other standard probate exclusions.
Process
To use the small estate process:
-
Prepare a Small Estate Affidavit
(Note that this official form mentions paying all debts, which is not required by law to use the affidavit, but may be required at some point depending on family entitlements) - Have the affidavit notarized, and attach a copy of the death certificate and the will (if one exists)
- Obtain possession of estate assets by presenting the affidavit to current custodians (this affidavit cannot be used to collect real estate)
- Settle the estate in the normal way (pay debts, distribute remaining assets)
- If you are transferring a vehicle, submit Form TR-83b to the DMV
- If everything goes smoothly, no court involvement will ever be required
See K.S.A. 59-1507b.
Refusal to Grant Letters of Administration
If the estate is worth <$75,000 or does not exceed the statutory amounts due to a surviving family, you can ask the court to refuse to grant letters of administration in order to avoid probate.
Requirements
You can use this process if either:
- The estate is not worth more than the family allowances due a surviving family
- Or, the value of the estate is <$75,000, the estate is not subject to any family allowances, and no more than 6 months have passed since the death
In determining the value of the estate, you should value assets as of the date of death, and subtract any debts. Do not include any assets that would not normally go through probate, such as community property with right of survivorship, assets with named beneficiaries (e.g., 401Ks, life insurance policies), and other standard probate exclusions.
Process
To settle an estate via this process:
- Submit to the court a Petition for Refusal to Grant Letters of Administration
- If you are the surviving spouse, the court may require you to publish and/or deliver a notice to interested parties
- If you are not the surviving spouse, the court may require you to obtain a bond equal to the value of the estate
- Upon approval, the court will issue an order settling the estate
- Use the order to collect estate assets, and then settle the estate in the normal way (satisfy family entitlements, pay debts, make distributions)
See K.S.A. 59-2287.
Simplified Administration
While not strictly a small estate process, if the KS estate is not complicated you may be able to bypass much of formal probate by requesting a simplified administration.
Requirements
You can use a simplified administration if the court agrees, after considering the size of the estate, the degree of kinship of the heirs, devisees and persons seeking appointment, the solvency of the estate, the nature of the estate, the wishes of the heirs and devisees, the probable cost of estate administration and settlement, and any other pertinent matters
Process
To settle an estate via simplified administration:
- Submit to the court a Petition for Probate of Will or a Petition for Administration if there is no will, and request a simplified administration
- The court will issue you your "Letters", which you can use to obtain possession of estate assets from current custodians
- Settle the estate in the normal way (satisfy family entitlements, pay debts, and make distributions)
- After the time for the filing of claims has expired, the time in which an appeal on admitting a will to probate has expired, and after 6 months from decedent's death have passed, you may request the court to close the estate.
Estate Settlement Considerations
Before paying any debts or making any distributions, be sure to account for any Family Entitlements in KS, which typically have priority over everything except expenses of the last illness, funeral charges, and any estate administrations expenses.
Even if the estate does not go through probate, you may still be entitled to Executor Compensation in KS, and this compensation also has priority over most estate debts.
Estate debts have priority over most distributions in turn, so before distributing assets you should resolve any estate debts. If the estate makes any distributions beyond amounts set aside for family entitlements, unpaid creditors have the right to sue the recipients for repayment using those excess distributions. Consequently, even if the settlement process does not require you to publish a Notice to Creditors, you may want to follow KS probate rules for finding estate debts, since doing so may limit the time creditors have to pursue repayment.
If estate solvency is uncertain, an executor should consider going through official probate for the increased creditor protection it offers. Alternately, such uncertainty can sometimes persuade creditors to forgive a portion of debts, since they will want to avoid legal expenses as well, and may prefer to get something rather than nothing.
See also Making Distributions.
Court
In Kansas, the local District Court handles wills and estate probate.
Additional Information
If your estate doesn't qualify for a small estate approach, or you're simply interested in exploring standard probate, take a look at Probate in KS.
And since probate is just the court-supervised subset of winding up a person's affairs after death, you'll probably want to check out our Complete Guide to Estate Settlement in KS.
Finally, in case you're interested, details about handling small estates in other states can be found here: