Kansas executor and estate paperwork checklist

This is an organizer, not legal advice. An estate attorney or the county probate/surrogate office answers questions about your situation.

The first 30 days

Work down the list; nothing you tick is saved or sent. The steps are general, the dates come from the official pages.

1. Order certified death certificatesThrough the funeral director or the vital records office. Order several: banks, insurers, pension plans and the court may each want one.
2. Confirm the death was reported to Social SecurityUsually the funeral home does this. If it didn't, phone 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778); a widow or widower, or certain children, may qualify for $255.
3. Track down the willCheck the home, a safe deposit box and the lawyer who drafted it. Leave the original exactly as you found it and work from copies.
4. See whether a self-proving affidavit is attachedIt's a sworn page signed by the witnesses, usually at the end of the will; the rule for this state is below.
5. Secure the home, car and mailLock up, keep the insurance in force, photograph valuables and forward the mail to yourself.
6. Pause before paying creditors or dividing keepsakesWho may act, and in what order bills get paid, depends on the route. Ask before you spend or distribute anything.
7. Know that a power of attorney has endedA power of attorney ends when the principal dies; the agent's authority stops there.
8. Write down every asset and debtFor each, record whose name it's in and whether a beneficiary or co-owner is listed; those usually go straight to that person.
9. Check the total against $75,000The official page's small estate figure. Leave out anything the page says isn't counted.
10. Keep an account of every transactionWrite down each payment and each deposit with the date and a receipt; heirs and the court may ask to see it.
11. Once you have authority: EIN and an estate accountThe IRS says you need an EIN before filing the estate's Form 1041, which is due if the estate has more than $600 of gross income in a year.

Sources for the federal steps: Social Security Administration: When someone dies · IRS: Deceased taxpayers, filing the estate income tax return (Form 1041) · power of attorney: Power of attorney at a real estate closing.

The small estate route

• ConfirmedSmall estate limit

  Total assets subject to probate worth no more than $75,000 (amended in 2024). The affidavit transfers personal property only; it doesn't transfer real estate.

  "if the total assets of the estate of the decedent subject to probate do not exceed $75,000 in value"

  Sources: K.S.A. 59-1507b, Transfer of property by affidavit (Kansas Revisor of Statutes); Kansas Judicial Council: Small Estates Affidavit form under K.S.A. 59-1507b (Rev. 02/2024, PDF); Nolo (secondary source): Probate Shortcuts in Kansas (Nolo), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedReal estate

  Real estate isn't counted, and the affidavit doesn't transfer it; it needs its own route.

  Sources: K.S.A. 59-1507b, Transfer of property by affidavit (Kansas Revisor of Statutes); Kansas Judicial Council: Small Estates Affidavit form under K.S.A. 59-1507b (Rev. 02/2024, PDF); Nolo (secondary source): Probate Shortcuts in Kansas (Nolo), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedWaiting period after the death

  No waiting period: K.S.A. 59-1507b lets the holder transfer once the successor furnishes the affidavit, and the Kansas Judicial Council form (rev. 02/2024) states none.

  "upon such successor furnishing the entity or person with an affidavit showing entitlement thereto"

  Sources: K.S.A. 59-1507b, Transfer of property by affidavit (Kansas Revisor of Statutes); Kansas Judicial Council: Small Estates Affidavit form under K.S.A. 59-1507b (Rev. 02/2024, PDF), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedNotary or oath

  Signed before a notary. The Kansas Judicial Council's form ends with a notary jurat; it is sworn or affirmed before a notary.

  "SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to (or affirmed) before me on"

  Source: Kansas Judicial Council: Small Estates Affidavit form under K.S.A. 59-1507b (Rev. 02/2024, PDF), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedWhere the paperwork goes

  Handed to the bank or other holder. The successor furnishes the affidavit to the entity or person holding the asset.

  "upon such successor furnishing the entity or person with an affidavit showing entitlement thereto"

  Sources: K.S.A. 59-1507b, Transfer of property by affidavit (Kansas Revisor of Statutes); Kansas Judicial Council: Small Estates Affidavit form under K.S.A. 59-1507b (Rev. 02/2024, PDF); Nolo (secondary source): Probate Shortcuts in Kansas (Nolo), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedOfficial form

  Small Estates Affidavit, Transferring Certain Personal Property in Estates Under $75,000 (Kansas Judicial Council, Rev. 02/2024). Kansas Judicial Council form under K.S.A. 59-1507b, revised 02/2024; it can be used in place of KDOR Form TR-83b and asks for a certified copy of the death certificate.

  Sources: Kansas Judicial Council: Small Estates Affidavit form under K.S.A. 59-1507b (Rev. 02/2024, PDF); K.S.A. 59-1507b, Transfer of property by affidavit (Kansas Revisor of Statutes), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedSimplified court procedure

  Simplified administration: As Nolo's summary describes it: for small estates that don't fit the affidavit, the probate court may, at its discretion, grant simplified administration, in which the representative takes more steps without court supervision.

  Source: Nolo (secondary source): Probate Shortcuts in Kansas (Nolo), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedWorth knowing

  The Judicial Council form notes that the limit was raised from $40,000 effective July 1, 2023. Vehicle VIN and odometer details are needed only when the form goes to the Department of Revenue's Division of Vehicles for a title transfer.

  Source: Kansas Judicial Council: Small Estates Affidavit form under K.S.A. 59-1507b (Rev. 02/2024, PDF), checked November 2026

The will at probate

How the will had to be signed matters when it's offered to the court.

• ConfirmedWitnesses the will needed

  Two or more witnesses who saw the testator sign or heard the testator acknowledge the will, signing in the testator's presence.

  "two or more competent witnesses, who saw the testator subscribe or heard the testator acknowledge the will"

  Sources: K.S.A. 59-606, Execution and attestation; self-proved wills (Kansas Revisor of Statutes); K.S.A. 59-604, Devise or bequest to witness (Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes); Nolo (secondary source): How to Make Will in Kansas (Nolo, updated September 2025), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedSelf-proving affidavit

  Allowed at signing or later during the lives of the testator and witnesses, before an officer authorized to take acknowledgments and administer oaths.

  "before an officer authorized to take acknowledgments to deeds of conveyance and to administer oaths"

  Sources: K.S.A. 59-606, Execution and attestation; self-proved wills (Kansas Revisor of Statutes); K.S.A. 59-604, Devise or bequest to witness (Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes); Nolo (secondary source): How to Make Will in Kansas (Nolo, updated September 2025), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedIf the will is handwritten

  Not recognized, per Nolo's Kansas page (updated September 2025).

  "Kansas doesn't allow holographic wills."

  Source: Nolo (secondary source): How to Make Will in Kansas (Nolo, updated September 2025), checked November 2026

• ConfirmedA witness who inherits

  A gift to a witness is void unless two other competent witnesses who get nothing also signed. A witness who would inherit with no will can still take up to that share.

  "A beneficial devise or bequest made in a will to a subscribing witness thereto shall"

  Sources: K.S.A. 59-606, Execution and attestation; self-proved wills (Kansas Revisor of Statutes); K.S.A. 59-604, Devise or bequest to witness (Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes); Nolo (secondary source): How to Make Will in Kansas (Nolo, updated September 2025), checked November 2026

Documents to gather

• The last few years of tax returns
• Recent bills, loan and credit card statements
• Pension, Social Security and benefit letters
• Safe deposit box location and keys
• Certified death certificates
• The original will and any codicils
• Deeds and mortgage statements
• Vehicle titles and registrations
• Recent bank, brokerage and retirement statements
• Life insurance policies and annuities
• The official small estate form: Small Estates Affidavit, Transferring Certain Personal Property in Estates Under $75,000 (Kansas Judicial Council, Rev. 02/2024)

Who to notify

Credit card companies, Pension or employer, Social Security (if the funeral home hasn't), Banks and credit unions, Brokerage and retirement accounts, Life insurance companies, Utilities and phone, Landlord or mortgage servicer. Write once to each, enclose a death certificate copy, and record the reply.

Documents needed abroad

• ConfirmedA death certificate needed abroad

  Apostilles for this state's documents come from the Kansas Secretary of State. $10 per document (raised from the earlier fee on March 2, 2026). Vital records: The original or a certified copy of a birth, marriage or death certificate or divorce decree; certified copies come from the Office of Vital Statistics.

  Source: Kansas Secretary of State, checked November 2026

Where to ask

An estate attorney or the county probate/surrogate office answers questions about your situation. Official pages for Kansas:

• Probate Shortcuts in Kansas (Nolo)

General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. We are not lawyers, and MCC Solutions is not a law firm. An estate attorney or the county probate/surrogate office answers questions about your situation. Facts checked November 2026.

Common questions

Related: Executor guide by state · Will signing requirements · Apostille steps · Estate paperwork help