Settle a small estate in Kansas without probate
In Kansas this is called: Small estates affidavit; refusal to grant letters of administration. If a Kansas resident's estate that would go through probate is worth $75,000 or less, the heirs or will beneficiaries can collect personal property, like bank accounts and cars, by giving a sworn affidavit to whoever holds it, with no court case.
Up to $75,000 (deaths on or after July 1, 2023), no waiting period, no court filing.
Checked against official sources: October 30, 2026.
Not about a small estate? Unclaimed money → Owed Map · Debt collectors → Debt Collector Map · Other problems → robinclaim.com
Free tools
Small estate checker
Add up the estate and compare it with the Kansas limit for the date of death.
Letter to a bank
Present your signed affidavit to a bank or other holder in Kansas.
Balance request letter
Ask a bank or holder for the balance on the date of death.
What-to-gather checklist
Papers, steps, forms and fees for Kansas, by procedure.
Car, bank, house in Kansas
Car or other vehicle
If the title names a transfer-on-death beneficiary, the beneficiary uses the Transfer on Death Affidavit (TR-82) with the death certificate and proof of the last Kansas title, at the county treasurer's motor vehicle office.
Bank accounts
Money in a joint account with survivorship or a payable-on-death account goes to the co-owner or beneficiary and is not part of the probate estate.
House or land
An owner can sign, acknowledge and record a TOD deed with the register of deeds in the county where the land is, before death. It transfers the interest at the owner's death and can be revoked; the beneficiary does not need to sign or be told during the owner's life.
Related pages
Small estates affidavit: transferring personal property in estates under $75,000 (K.S.A. 59-1507b)
A sworn statement you give to a bank, company or other holder, so they transfer the person's personal property to you without a probate case. It is not filed with a court.
- Limit
Up to $75,000 (deaths on or after July 1, 2023)
Date of death Limit On or after July 1, 2023$75,000On or before June 30, 2023$40,000The total assets of the estate subject to probate cannot be more than $75,000. The limit was raised from $40,000 to $75,000 effective July 1, 2023.
- What counts
The total value of the assets of the person's estate that are subject to probate. Property that passes outside probate is not part of it; insurance payable to the estate is. The statute does not say to subtract debts or liens.
- Waiting period
Kansas law sets no waiting period for this affidavit.
- Who can use it
A successor: a person entitled to the property under the will or by intestate succession, or the person nominated as personal representative in the will. The affiant must be over 18 and legally competent. The person must have been a Kansas resident.
- Court or where to file
Given to the bank, company or other holder of the property.
- Notary
Sworn before a notary or other notarial officer.
- Papers to attach
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Names, ages, relationships and addresses of the will beneficiaries or heirs
- List of the probate estate's personal property and values, including insurance payable to the estate
- Vehicle VIN and odometer reading, if a vehicle is being transferred
- Steps
- Add up the value of everything that would go through probate.
- Check that no probate case (petition to appoint an executor or administrator) has been filed or granted; the affidavit says so.
- Fill in the Judicial Council small estates affidavit.
- Sign it before a notary.
- Give it, with a certified death certificate, to each holder of the property.
- Pay the debts, then divide the property as the affidavit states.
- Fee
There is no court filing fee because the affidavit is not filed with a court.
- Debts and responsibility
The affiant states that all unpaid debts, claims and estate taxes have been or will be paid.
- What the bank or holder must do
The holder must transfer the personal property to the successor. The transfer counts as a transfer to the personal representative, and the successor's receipt fully discharges and releases the holder, as if it had paid an executor or administrator. An affidavit in substantial compliance with the Judicial Council form is sufficient.
Law: K.S.A. 59-1507b
Source: Official page
Petition for refusal to grant letters of administration (K.S.A. 59-2287)
A short court case where the judge orders that no probate administration is needed. It can be used by an heir, creditor or other interested person for an estate of $75,000 or less, or by a surviving spouse or minor children when the estate is no bigger than their allowances.
- Limit
Up to $75,000 (deaths on or after July 1, 2023)
Date of death Limit On or after July 1, 2023$75,000On or before June 30, 2023$50,000When an heir, creditor or other interested person petitions, the real and personal estate cannot be more than $75,000 (it was $50,000 before July 1, 2023), and the estate must not be subject to the spouse's and minor children's allowances, or those allowances must be waived. A spouse or minor children can use this procedure when the estate is no more than their exempt property and allowances.
- What counts
The value of the person's real and personal estate.
- Waiting period
The petition can be filed at any time.
- Who can use it
Any heir, devisee, legatee, creditor or other interested person (with a bond), or the surviving spouse or minor children.
- Court or where to file
The district court (probate), in the county where the person lived.
- Papers to attach
- Proof of the value and nature of the estate
- Bond of at least the value of the estate, when an heir, creditor or other interested person petitions
- Notice to interested persons when the spouse or minor children petition
- Steps
- File a petition with the district court.
- Give notice and post the bond if required.
- Show the court the value of the estate.
- If the court agrees, it orders that no letters be issued; the petitioner pays the debts in order and distributes the balance.
- Fee
Set by statute; ask the district court clerk. The court may remit court costs when the estate is $10,000 or less.
- If you can't pay
The court may remit costs for estates of $10,000 or less.
- Debts and responsibility
An heir or creditor who gets the order must pay the person's debts in their order of preference, as far as the assets allow, and then distribute the balance to the people entitled to it.
Law: K.S.A. 59-2287
Source: Official page
Payment of certain benefits to relatives by affidavit (K.S.A. 59-1507a)
If no executor or administrator is appointed, a close relative can collect up to $10,000 of the person's Social Security, veterans, or pension or annuity benefits that were owed at death, by filing an affidavit with the agency or company that pays the benefit.
- Limit
Up to $10,000 (deaths on or after July 1, 2023)
Date of death Limit On or after July 1, 2023$10,000On or before June 30, 2023$5,000Up to $10,000 of such benefits can be paid this way (the limit was $5,000 before July 1, 2023).
- What counts
Only unpaid monthly benefits under Social Security, a veterans program or a public or private retirement or annuity plan.
- Waiting period
Payment may be made no sooner than 180 days after the death.
- Who can use it
The surviving spouse; then children or descendants of deceased children; then the father or mother; then a brother or sister. Preference goes in that order if more than one asks.
- Court or where to file
Filed with the government office or private company responsible for the benefit.
- Papers to attach
- Date of death
- Relationship to the person
- Statement that no executor or administrator has been appointed
- Statement that no closer relative exists
- Steps
- Wait at least 180 days after the death.
- Fill in an affidavit with the required statements.
- File it with the agency or company that pays the benefit.
- Fee
No court fee.
- What the bank or holder must do
Payment to the relative counts as payment to the personal representative and fully discharges the payer.
Law: K.S.A. 59-1507a
Source: Official page
What counts toward the limit in Kansas
Add up the value of all the person's assets that would go through probate in Kansas. Do not include property that passes outside probate, such as joint accounts with survivorship, payable-on-death or transfer-on-death property, or life insurance paid to a named beneficiary. Include insurance payable to the estate.
Law: K.S.A. 59-1507b; Kansas Judicial Council Small Estates Affidavit (Rev. 12/2023)
| Kind of property | How it is treated | Details |
|---|---|---|
Bank accounts in the person's name alone | Counts | Bank accounts in the person's name alone, with no payable-on-death beneficiary, count. Law: K.S.A. 59-1507b |
Joint or payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts | Left out | Joint accounts with survivorship and payable-on-death accounts pass outside probate and are left out. Law: K.S.A. 59-1507b ('subject to probate') |
Cars and other vehicles | Counts | A vehicle in the person's name alone counts unless the title has a transfer-on-death beneficiary. Vehicles are listed on the affidavit. Law: K.S.A. 59-1507b, 8-135(c)(10) |
Boats and mobile or manufactured homes | Counts | Boats and other titled property in the person's name alone count. Law: K.S.A. 59-1507b |
Real estate in Kansas | Counts | Kansas real estate in the person's name alone counts toward the $75,000, but the affidavit cannot transfer real estate. Law: K.S.A. 59-1507b |
Main home (primary residence) | Counts | The person's home counts like other real estate unless it passes by joint tenancy or a transfer-on-death deed. Law: K.S.A. 59-1507b, 59-3501 |
Real estate in another state | Not clear | Ask the district court clerk whether real estate in another state is included. Law: K.S.A. 59-1507b |
Unpaid wages owed to the person | Not clear | Ask the district court clerk how unpaid wages are treated. Law: K.S.A. 59-1507b |
Military pay owed to the person | Not clear | Ask the district court clerk how military pay owed to the person is treated. Law: K.S.A. 59-1507b |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to a named person | Left out | Insurance or retirement money paid to a named beneficiary passes outside probate and is left out. Law: K.S.A. 59-1507b ('subject to probate') |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to the estate | Counts | Insurance payable to the estate counts and is listed on the affidavit by policy number. |
Property in a living trust | Left out | Property held in a trust passes outside probate and is left out. Law: K.S.A. 59-1507b ('subject to probate') |
Property owned jointly with right of survivorship | Left out | Property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship passes to the survivor and is left out. Law: K.S.A. 59-1507b ('subject to probate') |
Property going to a surviving spouse | Counts | Property in the person's name alone counts even if it goes to the spouse. Law: K.S.A. 59-1507b |
Stocks, bonds and brokerage accounts | Counts | Stocks and bonds in the person's name alone count, unless they have a transfer-on-death beneficiary. Law: K.S.A. 59-1507b |
Furniture, jewelry and other belongings | Counts | Furniture, jewelry, tools and other belongings count at their value. Law: K.S.A. 59-1507b |
Source: Official page
Car or vehicle title after a death in Kansas
If the title names a transfer-on-death beneficiary, the beneficiary uses the Transfer on Death Affidavit (TR-82) with the death certificate and proof of the last Kansas title, at the county treasurer's motor vehicle office. Without a TOD beneficiary, legal heirs can use the Decedent's Affidavit (TR-83a, for one vehicle, with the spouse claiming it as exempt property) or the small estates affidavit / Claim of Heir (TR-83b, estates under $75,000, with VIN and odometer reading), plus the lienholder consent form TR-128 if needed. A title fee and any other fees or taxes apply.
Law: K.S.A. 8-135(c)(10), 59-1507b, 59-403(a)
- Agency
- Kansas Department of Revenue, Division of Vehicles (applications at the county treasurer's motor vehicle office)
- Fee
A title fee applies, along with any other fees or taxes. The KDOR FAQ gives $10 as the Kansas title fee.
- Transfer-on-death title
Vehicles may be titled in transfer-on-death form. After the death, the beneficiary files form TR-82 with a copy of the death certificate at the county treasurer's motor vehicle office.
Source: Official page
Bank accounts after a death in Kansas
Money in a joint account with survivorship or a payable-on-death account goes to the co-owner or beneficiary and is not part of the probate estate. For an account in the person's name alone, a successor can give the bank the small estates affidavit if the probate estate is $75,000 or less; the bank is fully released when it pays. Unpaid Social Security, veterans or pension benefits up to $10,000 can be paid to close relatives by affidavit after 180 days.
Law: K.S.A. 59-1507b, 59-1507a
Source: Official page
Transfer-on-death (TOD) and payable-on-death (POD) in Kansas
- Real estate (TOD deed)
Yes · Transfer-on-death (TOD) deed
An owner can sign, acknowledge and record a TOD deed with the register of deeds in the county where the land is, before death. It transfers the interest at the owner's death and can be revoked; the beneficiary does not need to sign or be told during the owner's life.
Law: K.S.A. 59-3501, 59-3502
- Vehicle title (TOD)
Yes
Law: K.S.A. 8-135(c)(10)
- Bank account (POD)
Yes
Law: K.S.A. 9-1215
- Securities (TOD)
Yes
Law: K.S.A. 17-49a01 et seq. (Uniform TOD Security Registration Act)
Source: Official page
Surviving spouse in Kansas
The surviving spouse, for the spouse and minor children, is allowed the clothing, family library, pictures, furniture and household goods, one car, and a year's provisions, plus a reasonable allowance of up to $75,000 in money or property set by the court. This property is not used to pay the person's debts, except liens. If the estate is no bigger than these allowances, the spouse or minor children can ask the court to refuse letters. With form TR-83a, the spouse can claim one vehicle as exempt property at the county treasurer.
Debts of the person in Kansas
The small estates affidavit states that all unpaid debts, claims and estate taxes have been or will be paid. In a refusal of letters, the heir or creditor who gives the bond must pay the debts in order of preference before distributing the rest; after six months from the death, no creditor or heir is treated as having an interest in real estate sold under the order.
Medicaid estate recovery in Kansas
Kansas can claim repayment of Medicaid (KanCare) paid after June 30, 1992, for people who were 55 or older or were in long-term institutional care. For assistance received on or after July 1, 2004, the claim reaches an expanded 'medical assistance estate': all property the person had an interest in at death, including property passed by joint tenancy, transfer-on-death deed, payable-on-death account, life estate, trust or annuity. There is no recovery until after the surviving spouse dies, and not while there is a child under 21 or a blind or permanently and totally disabled child. The state may also file a lien on the person's real estate; a lien after death must be filed within one year of the death.
Law: K.S.A. 39-709(k); KEESM 1725
- Agency
- Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), Division of Health Care Finance, Estate Recovery Unit
- Official page
- Official page
Who inherits with no will in Kansas
If there is a spouse and no children or descendants of a deceased child, the spouse gets everything. If there is a spouse and children, the spouse gets half and the children (with descendants of a deceased child taking that child's share) get half. With no spouse, the children or their descendants get everything.
Law: K.S.A. 59-504, 59-506
Source: Official page
Death certificates in Kansas
Include a copy of a photo ID and a handwritten signature with the request. The CDC Where to Write page lists $20 per copy; the fee line is (785) 296-1400.
- Where to get it
- Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Office of Vital Statistics
- Official page
- Official page
Where to file in Kansas
The small estates affidavit is not filed with a court; you give it to each bank, company or other holder, and for vehicles to the county treasurer's motor vehicle office. A petition for refusal of letters, or for determination of descent of real estate, is filed with the district court in the county where the person lived (descent can also be filed where the property is). Benefit affidavits are filed with the agency or company that pays the benefit.
Good to know in Kansas
- Kansas raised its small estates affidavit limit from $40,000 to $75,000 effective July 1, 2023.
- Close relatives can collect up to $10,000 of unpaid Social Security, veterans or pension benefits by affidavit 180 days after the death.
- Kansas Medicaid estate recovery reaches property passed by joint tenancy, TOD deed, POD account or trust for assistance received from July 1, 2004.
Changes in 2024–2026
2023 H.B. 2130 raised the small estates affidavit limit from $40,000 to $75,000, the refusal-of-letters limit from $50,000 to $75,000, the spouse's allowance cap from $50,000 to $75,000 and the benefits affidavit from $5,000 to $10,000. 2024 S.B. 379 revised the wording of K.S.A. 59-1507b (successor definition and the process); the $75,000 limit did not change.
Law: L. 2023, ch. 77, effective July 1, 2023; L. 2024, ch. 35, effective July 1, 2024
National rules that apply in every state
Federal estate tax
- For a person who died in 2026, a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only if the gross estate, plus certain lifetime taxable gifts, is more than $15,000,000.
- Most estates owe no federal estate tax and do not need to file a federal estate tax return.
Law: 26 U.S.C. 2010(c)(3) (as amended by Pub. L. 119-21)
The final income tax return
- Report all income up to the date of death and claim all eligible credits and deductions.
- Someone must file the final federal income tax return of a person who died, the same way it would have been filed if they were alive.
- To claim a refund due to the person who died, attach Form 1310 (Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer).
Law: Form 1310 instructions (Rev. December 2025)
Social Security
- Social Security retirement benefits are paid through the month before the month the person died.
- If the person had enough Social Security work credits (was fully or currently insured), a one-time death payment of $255 (or three times the person's basic benefit, if that is smaller) can be paid to a surviving spouse who lived with the person.
Law: 42 U.S.C. 402(a), 402(i)
Savings bonds
- If the person's savings bonds and other Treasury securities held directly with the Treasury are worth more than $100,000 at the date of death, the Treasury requires a court-administered estate.
Law: 31 CFR 353.71; FS Form 5336 (Rev. April 2026)
Debts
- Debts are generally paid from the money and property the person left (the estate).
- If the estate cannot pay a debt and no one else shared responsibility for it, the debt may go unpaid.
- You may have to pay if you co-signed the loan, were a joint account holder on a credit card (not just an authorized user), or state law makes a spouse responsible for certain debts, such as in community property states or states with laws on necessary costs like health care.
Law: 12 CFR 1006.6(a)(4)
A house with a mortgage
- For a home with fewer than five units, a lender may not call the whole loan due just because the home passes to a relative after the borrower's death, to a spouse or children who become owners, or to a surviving joint owner.
- Https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/how-do-i-get-mortgage-information-about-a-home-i-inherited-en-217/
- Https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/i-recently-inherited-a-house-the-mortgage-lender-said-its-required-to-determine-my-ability-to-repay-before-it-will-let-me-take-over-the-mortgage-loan-is-this-true-en-1939/
Law: 12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d)(3), (5), (6); 12 CFR 1024.30(d), 1024.31
FDIC insurance on bank accounts
- After a deposit owner dies, FDIC insurance on the account stays the same for six months, unless the account is restructured.
Law: 12 CFR 330.3(j)
Medicaid estate recovery
- States must try to recover some Medicaid costs from the estate of a person who got benefits at age 55 or older: nursing facility services, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug services.
- The 'estate' includes at least the property in the person's probate estate under state law.
- Https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/42/1396p?type=usc&year=mostrecent&link-type=html
Law: 42 U.S.C. 1396p(b)
Death certificates
- Certified copies of a death certificate come from the vital records office of the state where the death happened, not from the federal government.
Free help in Kansas
A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.
More help on our sister sites
Questions about small estates in Kansas
What is a small estate affidavit called in Kansas?
In Kansas this is called: Small estates affidavit; refusal to grant letters of administration. If a Kansas resident's estate that would go through probate is worth $75,000 or less, the heirs or will beneficiaries can collect personal property, like bank accounts and cars, by giving a sworn affidavit to whoever holds it, with no court case.
What is the small estate limit in Kansas?
Up to $75,000 (deaths on or after July 1, 2023), no waiting period, no court filing.
How long do I wait in Kansas?
Kansas law sets no waiting period for this affidavit.
Do I have to go to court in Kansas?
Given to the bank, company or other holder of the property.
How do I transfer a car after a death in Kansas?
If the title names a transfer-on-death beneficiary, the beneficiary uses the Transfer on Death Affidavit (TR-82) with the death certificate and proof of the last Kansas title, at the county treasurer's motor vehicle office.
What happens to a bank account after a death in Kansas?
Money in a joint account with survivorship or a payable-on-death account goes to the co-owner or beneficiary and is not part of the probate estate. For an account in the person's name alone, a successor can give the bank the small estates affidavit if the probate estate is $75,000 or less; the bank is fully released when it pays.
Who inherits in Kansas if there is no will?
If there is a spouse and no children or descendants of a deceased child, the spouse gets everything. If there is a spouse and children, the spouse gets half and the children (with descendants of a deceased child taking that child's share) get half.
Do I owe the person's debts in Kansas?
The small estates affidavit states that all unpaid debts, claims and estate taxes have been or will be paid. In a refusal of letters, the heir or creditor who gives the bond must pay the debts in order of preference before distributing the rest; after six months from the death, no creditor or heir is treated as having an interest in real estate sold under the order.
- K.S.A. 59-1507b (Kansas Revisor of Statutes)
- K.S.A. 59-1507a
- K.S.A. 59-2287
- K.S.A. 59-2250 Proceedings to determine descent
- K.S.A. 59-403 Allowance to spouse and minor children
- K.S.A. 59-3501, 59-3502 Transfer-on-death deeds
- 2023 H.B. 2130 (enrolled)
- 2024 S.B. 379 (enrolled)
- Kansas Judicial Council Small Estates Affidavit (TR-83b, Rev. 12/2023)
- KDOR TR-83a Decedent's Affidavit
- KDOR TR-82 Transfer on Death Affidavit
- KDOR Division of Vehicles: Titling FAQ
- KEESM 1725 Estate Recovery Program (KDHE)
- K.S.A. 39-709
- CDC Where to Write: Kansas