How to Fill Out and File a Kansas Probate Petition Form

A Kansas probate petition is the document you file with the district court to open a deceased person’s estate and get a personal representative appointed. It goes to the district court in the county where the decedent lived, and the statewide docket fee is $109.50 plus a local surcharge that varies by judicial district.¹ Until the court accepts the petition, no one has legal authority to collect assets, pay debts, or distribute property. Which petition you file depends on whether the decedent left a will and how you want the estate administered.

First, Check Whether You Need a Petition at All

Not every Kansas estate needs a probate case. If the total value of the decedent’s probate assets does not exceed $75,000, a successor can collect personal property without obtaining letters of administration or letters testamentary. You give the bank, employer, or brokerage holding the property a small estate affidavit showing you are entitled to the assets.² A “successor” is a person entitled to the property by will or intestate succession, or someone nominated as personal representative in the will. For vehicle titles transferred this way, the Kansas Department of Revenue publishes Form TR-83b.

The $75,000 threshold covers only probate assets. Jointly held property that transfers automatically to a surviving owner, retirement accounts and life insurance with named beneficiaries, and property already in a trust do not count toward the limit, because they bypass probate regardless of value. Run the numbers on probate assets alone before you assume you need to file.

Choosing the Right Petition

Kansas uses two main petition types, and picking the wrong one wastes time.

Petition for Probate of a Will (K.S.A. 59-2220): Use this when the decedent left a will. It asks the court to validate the will and appoint the executor named in it. You must attach the original will if you can produce it. A petition for a lost or destroyed will must describe the will’s provisions instead.³
Petition for Letters of Administration (K.S.A. 59-2219): Use this when there is no will. It asks the court to appoint an administrator to handle the estate under intestacy rules.⁴

Either petition must also state whether you want simplified or supervised administration. Simplified administration under the Kansas Simplified Estates Act (K.S.A. 59-3201 through 59-3206) means the court does not actively supervise the personal representative’s actions, and no notice of individual estate proceedings is given except for the final settlement.⁵ The court decides whether to grant simplified administration based on factors like the estate’s size, solvency, the nature of the assets, the degree of kinship among heirs, and the wishes of the heirs and devisees.⁶ If anyone files a written objection, the court can order supervised administration instead. The petition itself must indicate whether simplified administration is sought and explain why.⁴

What the Petition Must Contain

Every probate petition in Kansas must include five core elements under K.S.A. 59-2202: the petitioner’s name, residence, and address; the petitioner’s legal interest and right to apply; the jurisdictional facts; the facts showing the petitioner is entitled to relief, stated in ordinary and concise language; and a prayer for relief.⁷ Beyond those general requirements, each petition type has specifics you need to gather before sitting down to the form.

Petition for Administration (No Will)

Include the decedent’s name, residence, and the date and place of death. List the names, ages, residences, and addresses of all known heirs, or note that a particular heir could not be identified or located despite reasonable diligence. Describe the general character and probable value of both real and personal property. Name the person for whom you are requesting letters, and state whether you are seeking simplified administration.⁴

Petition for Probate of a Will

Include everything required for a Petition for Administration, plus the names, ages, residences, and addresses of all devisees and legatees (the people named in the will to receive property), the name and address of the person named as executor, and the name and address of the person who drafted the will, if known. If a surviving spouse signed a consent to the will, say so in the petition and include the consent document.³

Property, Values, and Verification

Describe assets in plain terms and estimate fair market value. You do not need professional appraisals at this stage, but wildly inaccurate figures can complicate the bond amount later. Match the decedent’s identifying information to the death certificate exactly.

The petition must be signed and verified. Under K.S.A. 59-2201, every petition in a probate proceeding must be “signed and verified by or on behalf of the petitioner.”⁸ That verification functions as a statement under penalty of perjury that the facts are true, and it serves as proof of the petition’s contents unless someone files a written defense or appears in opposition.⁹

If You Cannot Find an Heir

The statute only requires you to identify heirs “so far as known or can with reasonable diligence be ascertained.” Document your search: review the decedent’s records and address books, contact known family members, check public records, and keep copies of returned mail and notes from conversations. If the court is satisfied you made a genuine effort, it can authorize notice by publication in a local newspaper, and a missing heir’s share may be held in trust or deposited with the court until they come forward.

Where to File and What It Costs

File the petition with the district court in the county where the decedent lived at the time of death, provided the decedent owned real property in that county. If the decedent lived in one Kansas county but owned real property only in other counties, you can file in the residence county or in any county where the decedent owned real property. For a non-Kansas resident who left property in the state, proceedings can be filed in any county where that property is located.¹⁰ Filing in the wrong county is grounds for dismissal, so confirm the decedent’s property holdings before choosing your courthouse.

All Kansas-licensed attorneys must file documents electronically through the Kansas Courts eFiling system.¹¹¹²¹³

The statewide docket fee for probating an estate or a will is $109.50 under K.S.A. 59-104.¹ Each judicial district adds its own surcharge on top of that amount. The 11th Judicial District, for example, adds a $22 surcharge for a total of $131.50.¹⁴ Your district’s total will differ, so check with the local clerk before filing.

What Happens After You File

Once the clerk accepts the petition and processes the fee, the court assigns a case number and sets a hearing date. The court will order notice of the hearing to be given to all interested parties under K.S.A. 59-2209, unless it orders an alternative method or the parties waive notice.⁵ If a surviving spouse or the decedent received Medicaid benefits, the state agency responsible for medical assistance recovery is also entitled to notice.

At the hearing, the judge reviews the petition and hears any objections. If no one contests the filing and the verification is in order, the petition itself serves as sufficient proof of its contents.⁹ The court then appoints the personal representative and issues either letters testamentary (with a will) or letters of administration (without one). Those letters are what banks, title companies, and other institutions require before they will deal with you on behalf of the estate.

Bond

Kansas law generally requires the personal representative to post a bond, which protects beneficiaries if the representative mismanages assets. The court has authority to excuse the bond under K.S.A. 59-1104, and it can also reimpose one at any time if circumstances change. A will that explicitly waives the bond requirement makes excusal more likely, especially when all beneficiaries consent. The bond amount is typically tied to the estate’s estimated value, which is why the property figures in your petition matter.

Creditor Notice and Claims

After the personal representative is appointed, a notice to creditors must be published, telling creditors of the decedent to present their claims within four months from the date of first publication or be permanently barred.¹⁵ For creditors whose identities and addresses are known or reasonably ascertainable, the personal representative should also mail a copy of the published notice. Known creditors who receive actual notice by mail get 30 days from that mailing or four months from publication, whichever period ends later.¹⁶ This creditor-claim window is one of the main reasons families open probate even for modest estates: it creates a hard deadline after which old debts cannot surface.

Tax Tasks the Petition Triggers

Opening a probate estate triggers a few tax steps that are easy to overlook.

The estate needs its own Employer Identification Number (EIN) for tax filings and to open an estate bank account. Apply for free on irs.gov using Form SS-4.¹⁷
If the estate earns any taxable income after the date of death (interest, rent, business income), the personal representative must file a Kansas Fiduciary Income Tax Return (Form K-41). Kansas does not impose a separate estate tax.¹⁸
For 2026, a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only if the gross estate exceeds $15,000,000, the basic exclusion amount set by the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act signed into law on July 4, 2025. The vast majority of Kansas estates fall well below this threshold.¹⁹

1
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 59-104 – Docket Fees
2
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 59-1507b – Transfer of Certain Personal Property to Successor
3
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 59-2220 – Petition for Probate of Will
4
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 59-2219 – Petition for Administration
5
Justia. Kansas Code 59-2222 – Notice of Hearing
6
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 59-3202 – Administration as Simplified Estate or Supervised Estate
7
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 59-2202 – Contents of Petition
8
Kansas State Legislature. Kansas Code 59-2201 – Pleading
9
Kansas State Legislature. Kansas Code 59-2213 – Judgments, Verification of the Petition, Vacation or Modification
10
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 59-2203 – Venue
11
Kansas Judicial Branch. Kansas Courts eFiling
12
Kansas Judicial Branch. Find Court Forms
13
Kansas Judicial Council. Probate
14
Kansas Courts. 11th Judicial District Filing Fees
15
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 59-2236 – Notice to Creditors
16
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 59-2239 – Demands Against Estate, Time Limitations
17
Internal Revenue Service. Information for Executors
18
Kansas Department of Revenue. Fiduciary Income Tax – 2025
19
Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax