Wills and estate planning in Kansas

Researched 2026-10-20 · confidence: high · 2026 figures

In plain words: in Kansas a will is valid when it's signed in front of 2 adult witnesses. There is no state estate tax. The federal estate tax exemption is $15,000,000 a person in 2026.

Witnesses to a will	2 (a third is a common precaution here)
Handwritten (holographic) will	Not recognised
Self-proving affidavit	Available
Electronic wills	Not allowed
Power of attorney	Notary
Health care directive	2 witnesses or a notary
State estate tax	No
State inheritance tax	No
Community property	No
Age of majority / UTMA age	18 / 21

Signing a will

Statute: K.S.A. 59-606.

A gift to a subscribing witness is void unless two other competent, non-beneficiary witnesses also sign, but the witness keeps up to their intestate share (K.S.A. 59-604).

Testator signs at the END of the will. Two competent witnesses sign in the testator's presence after seeing the testator sign or hearing the testator acknowledge the will (K.S.A. 59-606). Holographic wills are not recognized. Oral (nuncupative) wills made in the last sickness are valid for personal property only, if written down and signed by two disinterested witnesses within 30 days (K.S.A. 59-608). No electronic-wills statute was found.

Power of attorney

Statute: K.S.A. 58-650 et seq. (Kansas Power of Attorney Act).

To be durable, the POA must be called a 'durable power of attorney', include the statutory durability language, and be signed, dated and acknowledged before a notary (K.S.A. 58-652(a)). Hot powers need express enumeration (K.S.A. 58-654(f)), and some acts can never be delegated (58-654(g)). No statutory fill-in form was found.

Health care directive

Called: Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions and Declaration (living will).

Statute: K.S.A. 58-625 et seq. (durable POA for health care decisions; execution 58-629) and K.S.A. 65-28,101 et seq. (Natural Death Act declaration; 65-28,103).

Witnesses must be 18 or older. None may be: the agent (health care POA) or the person signing for the declarant (declaration); related to the principal by blood, marriage or adoption; entitled to any part of the estate by intestacy or will; or directly financially responsible for the principal's health care (K.S.A. 58-629; 65-28,103(a)).

Two witnesses OR acknowledgment before a notary. The living will declaration has a statutory form (K.S.A. 65-28,103(c)) and has no effect during pregnancy. The health care POA must include durability language (58-625), and the agent's powers start only on incapacity unless the document says otherwise (58-629(b)).

If there's no will: what a spouse gets

The spouse takes one-half of the property and the children take the other half, even when all children are also the spouse's (K.S.A. 59-504).

A spouse's right to a share

A percentage of the augmented estate that rises with length of marriage, from 3% after 1 year to 50% at 15+ years, plus a supplemental amount (K.S.A. 59-6a202).

Estate and inheritance tax

No state estate tax.

No inheritance tax.

Probate

Moderate; simplified administration is available. Personal property can pass by affidavit if total probate assets are $75,000 or less (K.S.A. 59-1507b).

Money God drafts a Kansas will, power of attorney and health care directive from a short interview, then you send it to your attorney for review before signing.

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Sources

Researched from state statutes and official forms. Laws change; this page is information, not legal advice. Every Money God draft is reviewed by a licensed attorney in your state before you sign it.