Updated September 3, 2026. Quick answer: Kansas lets a small estate be settled with Affidavit (“Small Estates Affidavit”): K.S.A. 59-1507b is a sworn affidavit, not a court petition., with no waiting period stated in the text we read, and it is No court filing. The affidavit is furnished directly to “the entity or person” holding or indebted for the decedent’s personal property: K.S.A. 59-1507b(a).. Real estate: No: the statute covers only “personal property of whatever nature transferable to the decedent’s estate” (K.S.A. 59-1507b(a)); no real-property provision appears anywhere in this section..
The verdicts
| Instrument | Affidavit (“Small Estates Affidavit”): K.S.A. 59-1507b is a sworn affidavit, not a court petition. |
|---|---|
| Wait after death | not stated |
| Where it goes | No court filing. The affidavit is furnished directly to “the entity or person” holding or indebted for the decedent’s personal property: K.S.A. 59-1507b(a). |
| Notarised? | Yes: established by the Judicial Council’s prescribed form referenced in the statute (K.S.A. 59-1507b(b)): the official form itself (KSJC 1) contains a full jurat with notary block. |
| Reaches real estate? | No: the statute covers only “personal property of whatever nature transferable to the decedent’s estate” (K.S.A. 59-1507b(a)); no real-property provision appears anywhere in this section. |
| Authority | K.S.A. 59-1507b |
What the statute actually says
“(a) When a resident of the state dies, whether testate or intestate, if 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 shall be transferred to a person claiming to be a successor of the decedent… without having been granted letters of administration or letters testamentary, upon such successor furnishing the entity or person with an affidavit showing entitlement thereto.” K.S.A. 59-1507b(a).
(K.S.A. 59-1507b)
The dollar limit
“[I]f the total assets of the estate of the decedent subject to probate do not exceed $75,000 in value”: K.S.A. 59-1507b(a). Raised from $40,000, effective July 1, 2023 (L. 2023, ch. 77, § 7), with a further 2024 amendment. No separate/higher figure for a surviving spouse was found in this section.
The form
Yes: official Kansas Judicial Council form KSJC 1, “Small Estates Affidavit: K.S.A. 59-1507b.” Direct fetch of kjc.ks.gov returned HTTP 403, so form content was confirmed via a mirrored copy hosted by Kansas Legal Services (state legal-aid nonprofit); that mirror still shows the pre-2023 $40,000 figure since it predates the amendment: the controlling figure is the current statutory $75,000.
What could not be verified
Full statute text (subsections a-c plus History line) fetched and read directly as static HTML from the official Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes site (ksrevisor.gov): fully verified primary source. One secondary-aggregator claim (a supposed 30-day waiting period) was NOT corroborated by the primary text and is rejected/omitted.
When this route is the wrong one
- The estate is over the limit. Full administration applies, and using the small-estate route anyway does not make it valid.
- There is real estate and this route does not reach it. A house needs the instrument that can actually transfer title.
- Someone disputes it. These procedures assume agreement; a contested estate belongs in front of a judge.
- Debts exceed assets. Paying the wrong creditor first can make you personally liable.
Related: how the process works, step by step · affidavit versus summary administration.
General information drawn from state statutes and official court materials, not legal advice. Probate and small-estate procedure is STATE law and differs in every state; thresholds, waiting periods and forms change, and every figure here is sourced and dated. Using the wrong instrument, or using one before its waiting period has run, can make a transfer ineffective and can expose the person who signs the affidavit to personal liability. We are not a law firm and we sell no forms.
Related: whether Kansas requires the executor to post a bond.