Kansas Small Estates Affidavit: One Measure, a Narrower Mechanism

Settled Estate puts the Kansas small estate affidavit limit at $75,000, subject to conditions this page sets out in full. Real property cannot pass this way. Last verified September 2026.

Kansas gives the affidavit to the bank rather than to the courthouse, and the $75,000 it turns on measures the whole probate estate, the house included. What the affidavit can actually move is narrower than what it counts.

Based on K.S.A. 59-1507b

By Settled Estate EditorialPublished: January 15, 2026Updated: May 31, 2026

Does Kansas Have a Small Estate Affidavit?

Kansas has one and calls it the small estates affidavit. K.S.A. 59-1507b(a) says that when a resident of the state dies, whether testate or intestate, and the total assets of the estate of the decedent subject to probate do not exceed $75,000 in value, any personal property of whatever nature transferable to the decedent's estate by any entity or person is transferred to the successor on an affidavit. The affidavit goes to whoever holds the property, so no petition is filed, no letters are issued and no docket fee is charged. Two features separate the Kansas route from the version most states run. It has no waiting period at all, so it is usable the day after the death. And its measure and its mechanism cover different ground: the $75,000 is tested against everything subject to probate, while the transfer reaches personal property only.

Do you qualify?

Qualifying threshold: $75,000 or less, measured on the total assets of the estate of the decedent subject to probate, in value. K.S.A. 59-1507b(a) sets one figure and applies it to the whole probate estate rather than to the property the affidavit can actually collect, so a house that is subject to probate counts toward the answer even though the affidavit cannot convey it.The measure and the mechanism are different scopes, and reading one as the other is the mistake this page exists to prevent. K.S.A. 59-1507b(a) tests the TOTAL ASSETS OF THE ESTATE SUBJECT TO PROBATE against $75,000, which counts Kansas real estate held in the decedent's name alone. What the section then transfers is ANY PERSONAL PROPERTY OF WHATEVER NATURE transferable to the estate, which cannot reach land at all. So a family with a $60,000 house and $20,000 in bank accounts needs both answers: the estate is over the line at $80,000, and even under the line the affidavit could not have moved the house. Property that already passes another way is outside the figure because it is not subject to probate, which covers joint tenancy with right of survivorship, a payable-on-death or beneficiary designation, a transfer-on-death deed recorded before the death and anything held in a trust. Nothing is excluded from the measure by asset class, so there is no personal-property-only version of the $75,000 to fall back on.
Waiting period: None. K.S.A. 59-1507b states no waiting period, which sets Kansas apart from most states, and the affidavit is usable as soon as it can be prepared. The clocks that do matter in Kansas run in the other direction. A will of a Kansas resident does not pass property unless a petition to probate it is filed within six months of the death under K.S.A. 59-617, and K.S.A. 59-2239(1) bars creditors from the decedent's property, other than liens existing at the death, unless a probate or administration petition is filed within six months. Two other Kansas routes DO have a wait: the benefit affidavit under K.S.A. 59-1507a needs 180 days, and a proceeding to determine descent under K.S.A. 59-2250 needs the decedent to have been dead more than six months.
Court filing fee: $0. The affidavit is not filed with a court, so no docket fee attaches to it and there is no line for it in the K.S.A. 59-104 fee table. The successor gives it to the bank, the employer or the company holding the property. Budget instead for certified death certificates, which the KDHE Office of Vital Statistics prices at $20 for each certified copy, where the first $20 covers a five-year record search and includes one copy if the record is found. Ordering through VitalChek adds a $15 expedited service fee and the iKan app adds a $5 processing fee. Opening a Kansas estate instead is a $109.50 docket fee for probate of an estate or of a will under K.S.A. 59-104(a)(1), and on and after July 1, 2026 the supreme court may add up to $22 per docket fee, so the counter figure sits between $109.50 and $131.50.
Attorney: Not typically neededNo statutory requirement. K.S.A. 59-1507b(b) is written so a successor can sign the affidavit and hand it to an institution. Counsel earns its cost where the probate estate is near $75,000, where the decedent owned Kansas real estate, where the estate may be insolvent, where a will exists and the six-month probate limit in K.S.A. 59-617 is running, or where the decedent received medical assistance the state can recover from the estate
Real estate: Not covered by this procedureA Kansas house counts toward the $75,000 and cannot be transferred by the affidavit, and those two facts have to be held at once. K.S.A. 59-1507b(a) measures the total assets of the estate subject to probate, which includes real estate that would pass through probate, and then transfers only any personal property of whatever nature transferable to the decedent's estate by any entity or person. Land is not personal property, so the affidavit cannot convey it however small the estate is. Kansas real estate moves instead through a probate administration, through a proceeding to determine descent under K.S.A. 59-2250 once the decedent has been dead more than six months, through a transfer-on-death deed recorded before the death, through joint tenancy with right of survivorship, or through a trust. Because the house counts toward the measure, a modest estate whose main asset is a home is usually over the line before the accounts are added at all.

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Main Requirements

Total Probate Assets of $75,000 or Less

K.S.A. 59-1507b(a) caps the total assets of the estate of the decedent subject to probate at $75,000 in value. The measure is the whole probate estate rather than the personal property the affidavit collects, so Kansas real estate counts toward it. Nothing is excluded by asset class.

The Decedent Died a Resident of Kansas

The section applies when a resident of the state dies. Residence at death is the gate. A nonresident decedent who left Kansas property is outside K.S.A. 59-1507b and needs a court route.

The Signer Is a Successor

K.S.A. 59-1507b(c) defines a successor as a person entitled to the property by will or by intestate succession, or a person nominated as personal representative under the will. L. 2024, ch. 35, sec. 2 broadened that definition without moving the dollar figure.

The Property Is Personal Property Transferable to the Estate

The affidavit reaches any personal property of whatever nature transferable to the decedent's estate by any entity or person. Bank accounts, wages, securities and similar items held by a bank, employer or company are within it. Kansas real estate is not, even though it counts toward the $75,000.

The Affidavit Substantially Complies With the Judicial Council Form

K.S.A. 59-1507b(b) makes the affidavit sufficient if in substantial compliance with the form set forth by the judicial council, published as Small Estates Affidavit (02-2024). The holder of the property decides whether that standard is met, because no court reviews the affidavit first.

A Will Does Not Close the Route

K.S.A. 59-1507b(a) opens whether testate or intestate, and subsection (c) counts a person entitled by will and a person nominated as personal representative under the will as successors. A testate estate can use the affidavit, subject to the six-month limit on probating the will in K.S.A. 59-617.

There Is No Waiting Period

K.S.A. 59-1507b states none, unlike the ten-day, thirty-day and forty-five-day waits many states impose. The elapsed time is whatever the holder of the property takes to accept the affidavit.

Available Small-Estate Options

Small Estates Affidavit, K.S.A. 59-1507b

Limit: Total assets of the estate subject to probate of $75,000 or less. Transfers any personal property of whatever nature transferable to the estate by any entity or person, so bank accounts, wages, securities and belongings, but not land
Real Estate: Not included
Timeline: Immediate. There is no waiting period and no court filing, so the elapsed time is whatever the holder of the property takes to accept it
Typical Fee: $0. Not filed with a court. Budget for certified death certificates at $20 each

Refusal to Grant Letters of Administration, K.S.A. 59-2287

Limit: Discretionary. Under (a)(1) no dollar figure at all, where the value of the property is not greater than the exempt property plus the K.S.A. 59-403 allowance. Under (a)(2) the real and personal estate does not exceed $75,000, the K.S.A. 59-403 allowances do not apply or are waived, and a petitioning heir, devisee, legatee, creditor or other interested person gives bond of at least the value of the estate
Real Estate: Can be included
Timeline: About 1 to 3 months, paced by the notice period rather than by the creditor bar
Typical Fee: $48.50 docket fee under K.S.A. 59-104(a)(1), plus any bond premium

Proceedings to Determine Descent, K.S.A. 59-2250 and 59-2251

Limit: No dollar threshold. The gate is time and the absence of any other proceeding: more than six months since the death, no will filed under K.S.A. 59-618a within six months, no petition for probate of a will and no administration. The ordinary Kansas way to clear title to real estate where nobody opened a probate
Real Estate: Can be included
Timeline: About 1 to 3 months after the six-month wait
Typical Fee: $49.50 docket fee under K.S.A. 59-104(a)(1)

Simplified Estate, K.S.A. 59-3201 through 59-3206

Limit: No dollar threshold. The court decides at the hearing on the petition whether the estate is administered as a simplified estate or a supervised one, weighing the size of the estate, the kinship of the heirs and devisees, solvency, the nature of the estate, the wishes of the heirs and devisees and the probable cost of administration
Real Estate: Can be included
Timeline: About 6 to 12 months. Removing court supervision does not shorten the four-month creditor bar or the nine-month settlement period
Typical Fee: $109.50 docket fee under K.S.A. 59-104(a)(1), between $109.50 and $131.50 on and after July 1, 2026

Supervised Administration, K.S.A. 59-2219 et seq.

Limit: No dollar threshold. The ordinary route where the court does not order simplified administration, testate or intestate
Real Estate: Can be included
Timeline: About 6 to 12 months, floored by the four-month creditor bar and the nine-month settlement period in K.S.A. 59-1501
Typical Fee: $109.50 docket fee under K.S.A. 59-104(a)(1), between $109.50 and $131.50 on and after July 1, 2026

The measure counts the house. The affidavit cannot move it.

Kansas is one of the few states where the small-estate figure and the small-estate mechanism cover different property, and almost every wrong answer here comes from collapsing them. K.S.A. 59-1507b(a) measures the total assets of the estate of the decedent subject to probate, so a Kansas house held in the decedent's name alone counts toward the $75,000 and often carries the estate over the line on its own. The same subsection transfers only any personal property of whatever nature transferable to the estate, so even an estate comfortably under the ceiling cannot pass the house this way. Do not treat Kansas as a state that excludes real property from the measure, and do not treat it as a state that disqualifies the route when real property exists: it does neither. There is also a second $75,000 in the Kansas probate code, at K.S.A. 59-2287, and it is a discretionary court order refusing letters that measures the real and personal estate and can require a bond, not a larger tier of this affidavit. Talk to a Kansas probate attorney where the probate estate is near $75,000, where there is real estate, where the estate may be insolvent, where a will has to be probated inside the six-month limit in K.S.A. 59-617, or where the decedent received medical assistance the state can recover.

Step-by-Step Process

Add Up Everything Subject to Probate

K.S.A. 59-1507b(a) measures the total assets of the estate of the decedent subject to probate. Count solely owned bank and brokerage accounts, vehicles, wages owed, personal belongings and any Kansas real estate held in the decedent's name alone. Leave out property that already passes another way, because it is not subject to probate: joint tenancy with right of survivorship, a payable-on-death or beneficiary designation, a transfer-on-death deed recorded before the death, and anything held in a trust. The total has to come in at $75,000 or less. Include the house in this step even though the affidavit cannot move it, because the statute measures the estate rather than the mechanism.

Confirm the Decedent Died a Kansas Resident

K.S.A. 59-1507b(a) opens with the words when a resident of the state dies. Residence at death is the gate, not where the property sits and not where the successor lives. A decedent who lived in another state at death does not fit this section, whatever Kansas property is left behind, and that estate needs a Kansas court route instead.

Confirm You Are a Successor

K.S.A. 59-1507b(c) defines who may sign. A successor is a person entitled to the property by the decedent's will or by intestate succession, or a person nominated as personal representative under the will. A will does NOT close this route: the section opens whether testate or intestate, and the 2024 amendment broadened the definition rather than narrowing it. Work out who is entitled to each item before anyone signs, because the affidavit states the claim rather than proving it.

Use the Judicial Council Form

K.S.A. 59-1507b(b) makes the affidavit sufficient if it is in substantial compliance with the form set forth by the judicial council. The Kansas Judicial Council publishes it as Small Estates Affidavit (02-2024). Substantial compliance is the standard, so a form that omits a statutory statement is where a bank refusal starts. The Kansas Department of Revenue publishes its own version for vehicle work as form TR-83b, whose printed heading names K.S.A. 59-1507b and the $75,000 figure.

Give the Affidavit to Whoever Holds the Property

There is no court filing and no filing fee. The successor furnishes the affidavit to the entity or person holding the personal property or owing the debt, which is the bank, the credit union, the employer, the transfer agent or the company. K.S.A. 59-1507b provides for the discharge and release of the holder who acts on it. Bring a certified death certificate, expect the institution to keep a copy, and expect it to decide for itself whether the affidavit is in substantial compliance.

Deal Separately With Anything the Affidavit Cannot Reach

Real estate needs a court route: a probate administration, or a proceeding to determine descent under K.S.A. 59-2250 once the decedent has been dead more than six months, which ends in a decree of descent under K.S.A. 59-2251 assigning the property to the persons entitled at the date of death. A monthly benefit under title II of the social security act, a veterans administration program, or a public or private retirement or annuity plan has its own affidavit at K.S.A. 59-1507a, capped at $10,000 and available only 180 days or more after the death.

Watch the Two Six-Month Clocks Before You Rely on Doing Nothing Else

Kansas puts a hard limit on the will and a hard limit on creditors, and both run from the death. K.S.A. 59-617 says no will of a testator who died a Kansas resident is effectual to pass property unless a petition for its probate is filed within six months after the death, and K.S.A. 59-618a lets anyone holding the will file it with the district court inside that window with the statutory affidavit for a $48.50 docket fee, which preserves the ability to probate it later. K.S.A. 59-2239(1) separately bars creditors from the decedent's property, other than liens existing at the death, unless a petition is filed within six months. Do not read the creditor bar as a reason to wait, because the will limit is running at the same time.

County Note: Nothing about this affidavit is local, and neither is the court behind it. K.S.A. 20-301 puts a district court in each of the 105 Kansas counties with general original jurisdiction, so there is no separate Kansas probate court and no county probate forum to choose between. The docket-fee table in K.S.A. 59-104 is statewide and identical in every county, and K.S.A. 59-104(a)(2) says the docket fee is the only fee collected for the docket fee and may only be established by an act of the legislature, so there is no county surcharge to shop for. The affidavit itself never reaches a counter: it goes to the private holder of the property. Where a court route is needed, venue comes from K.S.A. 59-2203, which for a Kansas resident is the district court of the county of residence. The one genuinely local office is a different one. Recording a deed or a decree of descent goes to the county register of deeds at the uniform statewide amounts in K.S.A. 28-115, $17 for the first page and $13 for each additional page, plus a $3 per page technology fee under subsection (b).

FAQ: Kansas Small Estates Affidavit

Does Kansas have a small estate affidavit?

Yes, and Kansas calls it the small estates affidavit. K.S.A. 59-1507b(a) provides that when a resident of the state dies, whether testate or intestate, and the total assets of the estate of the decedent subject to probate do not exceed $75,000 in value, any personal property of whatever nature transferable to the decedent's estate by any entity or person is transferred to the successor on an affidavit. It is not filed with a court. The successor furnishes it to the bank, the employer or the company holding the property, which is why there is no docket fee for it in the K.S.A. 59-104 table. The Kansas Judicial Council publishes the statutory form as Small Estates Affidavit (02-2024) under the authority K.S.A. 59-1507b(b) gives it.

What is the Kansas small estate limit?

$75,000, measured on the total assets of the estate of the decedent subject to probate. The figure was $40,000 before July 1, 2023, when L. 2023, ch. 77, sec. 7 raised it. The same act raised four other Kansas probate figures on the same day, which is why several of them now read $75,000. It is not indexed and there is no adjustment schedule, so it moves only when the legislature moves it. L. 2024, ch. 35, sec. 2 restructured the section the following year and left the number alone. One caution about a death close to July 1, 2023: the 2023 act states no transition rule for its dollar amounts, so which figure governs is a reading of the statute rather than a stated rule, and the district court clerk or a Kansas lawyer should confirm it.

Can a Kansas small estates affidavit transfer a house?

No, and the house still counts toward the limit. K.S.A. 59-1507b transfers any personal property of whatever nature transferable to the estate, which cannot reach land, while the $75,000 is measured on the total assets of the estate subject to probate, which includes Kansas real estate that would pass through probate. Both halves are true at once. A house needs a probate administration, a proceeding to determine descent under K.S.A. 59-2250 once the decedent has been dead more than six months, a transfer-on-death deed recorded before the death, joint tenancy with right of survivorship, or a trust.

Is there a waiting period for the Kansas small estates affidavit?

No. K.S.A. 59-1507b sets none, which is unusual: most states make a successor wait ten, thirty or forty-five days. The affidavit is usable as soon as it is prepared and a certified death certificate is in hand. Two other Kansas routes do have a wait. The benefit affidavit for a monthly social security, veterans administration or retirement or annuity payment under K.S.A. 59-1507a is available only 180 days or more after the death and is capped at $10,000. A proceeding to determine descent under K.S.A. 59-2250 requires the decedent to have been dead more than six months.

Does a will stop you from using the Kansas affidavit?

No. K.S.A. 59-1507b(a) opens with the words when a resident of the state dies, whether testate or intestate, and subsection (c) defines a successor to include a person entitled to the property by the will and a person nominated as personal representative under the will. What a will does change is a separate clock. K.S.A. 59-617 says no will of a testator who died a Kansas resident is effectual to pass property unless a petition for its probate is filed within six months after the death, and K.S.A. 59-618a lets anyone holding the will file it or a copy with the district court inside that window with the statutory affidavit, at a $48.50 docket fee, which preserves the ability to probate it afterwards.

What is the second Kansas route with the same $75,000 figure?

Refusal to grant letters of administration under K.S.A. 59-2287, and it is a different procedure rather than a tier of the affidavit. The district court may, in its discretion, refuse to grant letters in two situations. Under K.S.A. 59-2287(a)(1) there is no dollar figure at all: the test is whether the value of the decedent's real or personal property is not greater than the exempt property allowed by law plus the K.S.A. 59-403 allowance to the surviving spouse or minor children. Under K.S.A. 59-2287(a)(2) the real and personal estate must not exceed $75,000, the K.S.A. 59-403 allowances must not apply or must be waived, and an heir, devisee, legatee, creditor or other interested person who petitions must give bond in a sum of not less than the value of the estate. So the measure differs, the mechanism is a court order rather than a private affidavit, and the conditions are not the same. The two figures match only because L. 2023, ch. 77 raised both in one act, from $40,000 and $50,000.

Official Forms, Sources, and VerificationOfficial references used for this page

K.S.A. 59-1507b, Transfer of certain personal property to successor; discharge and release; affidavitOffice of Revisor of Statutes, State of Kansas. Current official statute text, accessed September 7, 2026.
2023 Kansas Session Laws ch. 77 (HB 2130), the act that raised the Kansas probate code dollar amountsKansas Secretary of State. Effective July 1, 2023, read in both directions September 7, 2026.
K.S.A. 59-2287, Refusal to grant letters of administration; order; notice; termination of administrationOffice of Revisor of Statutes, State of Kansas. Current official statute text, accessed September 7, 2026.
K.S.A. 59-1507a, Payment of certain benefits to certain relatives; discharge and release; affidavitOffice of Revisor of Statutes, State of Kansas. Current official statute text, accessed September 7, 2026.
K.S.A. 59-2250, Proceedings to determine descentOffice of Revisor of Statutes, State of Kansas. Current official statute text, accessed September 7, 2026.
K.S.A. 59-2239, Claims against estate; time for filing; when barredOffice of Revisor of Statutes, State of Kansas. Current official statute text, accessed September 7, 2026.
Small Estates Affidavit, K.S.A. 59-1507b (the statutory form set by the judicial council)Kansas Judicial Council. Form dated 02-2024, accessed September 7, 2026.
K.S.A. 59-104, Docket fee; authorized only by legislative enactment; poverty affidavit; additional court costsOffice of Revisor of Statutes, State of Kansas. Current official statute text, accessed September 7, 2026.
Death Certificate ordering page and feesKansas Department of Health and Environment, Office of Vital Statistics. Current official agency page, accessed September 7, 2026.

Information current as of May 31, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Kansas can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.