How much does probate cost in Kansas?
9 Aug 2026
Kansas settles both fees in one sentence: the fiduciary is allowed necessary expenses and such compensation for their own services and those of their attorneys as shall be just and reasonable. No percentage, no band, no cap and no floor.
That single standard is unusual — most states put the executor’s pay and the lawyer’s in different sections and judge them differently. In Kansas the court applies one test to both, and either can be approved during the administration rather than only at the end. What Kansas does fix is the court: a flat docket fee of $109.50 for a probate, and the statute says in terms that it is the only fee that may be charged and that no authority other than the legislature may set one. That is the strongest anti-county-variance language in this database.
K.S.A. 59-1717 — Kansas Statutes Annotated, published by the Office of Revisor of Statutes · Verified 8 Aug 2026
Informational only, not legal advice. Figures verified on the date stamped. Details: /disclaimer/
Work it out on your own number
There is no Kansas percentage to compute for either professional fee. What computes exactly is the court’s docket fee, and Kansas publishes it as a list of proceeding types rather than a scale on estate value.
| Probate of an estate or of a will | $109.50 |
| Determination of descent of property | $49.50 |
| Refusal to grant letters of administration | $48.50 |
| Termination of a joint tenancy | $48.50 |
| Termination of a life estate | $48.50 |
| Filing a will and affidavit under K.S.A. 59-618a | $48.50 |
| Guardianship, conservatorship or trusteeship | $69.50 |
| Certified probate proceedings under K.S.A. 59-213 | $23.50 |
| Decrees in probate from another state | $173.00 |
There is no percentage here to work, so the Fee Calculator does not return a Kansas professional fee. It returns the docket fee, which is a lookup by proceeding type rather than a computation on value.
Where total assets do not exceed $10,000.00 the court may remit the court costs or any part of them. That is discretionary, so it is not built into any figure on this page — but it is worth asking for.
What each part costs
Every row is one figure, one source, one date. Where Kansas fixes no price, the row says so instead of guessing.
| Fee | Amount or formula | Set by | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attorney feeOrdinary services | No statutory rateKansas sets no attorney fee for probate. One sentence covers it: every fiduciary shall be allowed necessary expenses incurred in the execution of the trust, and shall have such compensation for services and those of their attorneys as shall be just and reasonable. The judge decides what that is, and the statute enumerates no factors — unlike states that publish a list. Payment need not wait for the end: at any time during the administration the fiduciary may apply to the court for an allowance upon compensation and upon attorney fees. Two fee-shifting routes sit alongside it. Anyone who propounds a will in good faith and with just cause, or who successfully opposes one, is allowed necessary expenses and disbursements plus just and proper compensation for their own and their attorneys’ services — win or lose on the propounding side. And an heir or beneficiary who successfully prosecutes or defends any other action for the benefit of the ultimate recipients may be allowed a reasonable attorney fee at the court’s discretion. | The court — just and reasonable | K.S.A. 59-1717, with K.S.A. 59-1504 and 59-104(d) One section governs the attorney fee and the fiduciary fee together | 8 Aug 2026 |
| Executor or administratorAnd every other fiduciary | No statutory rateNo commission and no percentage of the estate anywhere in the Kansas probate code. The same just-and-reasonable standard applies, and it applies to every fiduciary — administrators, conservators and trustees as well as executors. The court approves the figure and can do so during the administration rather than at the close. One rule is worth knowing before anything is agreed: where the will provides for the executor’s compensation, that is taken as the executor’s full compensation unless the executor files a written instrument renouncing all claim to it. The section sets no deadline for filing that renunciation, but an executor who simply accepts a low figure in a will is bound by it. | The court — just and reasonable | K.S.A. 59-1717, with K.S.A. 59-1504 §59-1717 is L. 1939 ch.180 §147, unamended since enactment | 8 Aug 2026 |
| Court docket feeDistrict court — flat, and the only fee | $109.50A single flat docket fee for the probate of an estate or of a will, the same in every county, from a printed list of sixteen proceeding types. The statute is emphatic about what it excludes: the docket fee established in the section shall be the only fee collected for the docket fee, it may only be established by an act of the legislature, and no other authority is established by law or otherwise to collect one. The poverty affidavit and exemption provisions that apply in civil cases apply here too. What the docket fee does not cover is everything else the estate ends up paying for — publication of legal notice, witness fees, appraiser fees, service outside the state, depositions, transcripts, and the executor’s and attorney’s fees are all assessed as additional court costs, approved by the court unless specifically fixed by statute, and taxed and billed against the parties or the estate as the court directs. No sheriff in Kansas may charge a district court a fee or mileage for serving any paper or process. | Statute — flat, statewide, no county variance possible | K.S.A. 59-104 With K.S.A. 59-2215, remission of court costs in estates under $10,000 | 6 Aug 2026 |
| Newspaper publicationNotice to creditors — capped, and the card is on file | Capped at the paper’s lowest classified rateNot priced by the state, but genuinely capped. A newspaper shall charge and receive for publishing a legal advertisement a rate not exceeding the lowest regular classified advertising rate it charges its commercial customers. On or before 1 July each year every publisher that runs legal advertisements must file with the county clerk a card showing its rates for legal advertisements, effective for one year — so the price is knowable before you publish, and you can ask the county clerk for the filed card. Any contract rate or volume discount given to commercial customers must be available to you on the same terms and conditions. And the classified rate for legal advertisements may not be increased in any year by more than fifteen per cent over the preceding year. The definition of a legal advertisement expressly covers any matter required by law to be published as part of a court proceeding, which a probate notice is. On the schedule: once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of the county authorised by law to publish legal notices, with the first insertion within thirty days after the order fixing the time and place of hearing. Proof of publication must be accompanied by a verified statement of the fees and charges, and those charges are taxed as costs and collected like other costs in the proceeding. | Statutory ceiling, set by reference to a private rate | K.S.A. 28-137, with 28-137b and K.S.A. 59-2209 Failure to charge in accordance with the section does not affect the validity of the notice | 9 Aug 2026 |
| BondFiduciary’s bond — a floor at 125% | Not less than 125% of a defined base
|
Statutory floor, court fixes the amount above it | K.S.A. 59-1101, with K.S.A. 59-1104 §§59-1102 to 59-1109 are not read here; none affects the 125 per cent floor | 6 Aug 2026 |
The $22 supreme court surcharge has expired and should not be added. Between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2025 the supreme court could impose up to $22.00 per docket fee to fund non-judicial personnel. That authority has lapsed on the face of the statute, though the text remains printed in the section. The current charge for a probate is the bare $109.50.
How the Kansas sources are linked. The Office of Revisor of Statutes publishes one clean page per section, with no query strings or ampersands, so every source above points at the exact section we read. The site does not serve directory listings, so the chapter contents pages are the way in.
What can change the bill — allowances, waivers and one-off charges
- The docket fee can be remitted entirely on a small estate. Where the total assets of the estate do not exceed $10,000.00 in value, the court may remit the court costs or any part of them. It is discretionary, and it is the only provision of its kind in this database — a cost waiver keyed to the size of the estate rather than to poverty.
- A poverty affidavit works here too. The exemption provisions that apply to civil docket fees apply to probate docket fees.
- The additional court costs are where the real money is. Publication of legal notice, witness fees, appraiser fees, service of process outside the state, depositions, transcripts, and the executor’s and attorney’s fees are all assessed as additional court costs, approved by the court unless specifically fixed by statute, and taxed against the parties or the estate as the court directs.
- Sheriff’s service costs the estate nothing. No sheriff in Kansas may charge a district court a fee or mileage for serving any paper or process.
- The law library and prosecuting attorneys’ training charges come out of the docket fee, not on top of it. They are paid from the $109.50, with the remainder going to the state treasurer.
- These aren’t costs — they’re amounts the law protects for the family before creditors, and they change what an estate actually pays out. The surviving spouse is allowed, for their benefit and that of any minor children, the wearing apparel, family library, pictures, musical instruments, furniture and household goods, utensils and implements used in the home, one automobile, and the provisions and fuel on hand necessary for a year’s support — plus a reasonable allowance of not more than $75,000.00 in money or property at appraised value, the exact amount set by the court after taking the condition of the estate into account. None of it is liable for the decedent’s debts except liens existing at the date of death.
K.S.A. 59-2215; 59-104(b), (c) and (d); K.S.A. 59-403 — Kansas Statutes Annotated · Verified 8 Aug 2026
What changes YOUR number in Kansas
- One section, one standard, both fees
- Kansas is the only state in this database where a single sentence governs the executor’s compensation and the attorney’s. The practical effect is that they are argued together and approved together, and the same just-and-reasonable test decides both. There is no separate list of factors for either — the standard is the whole of the test, which is why Kansas fee questions are litigated rather than looked up.
- A fee clause in the will binds unless renounced in writing
- Where the person who made the will provided for the executor’s compensation, that is taken as the executor’s full compensation. The only escape is a written instrument renouncing all claim to it. Kansas sets no deadline for filing that renunciation, unlike states that require it before qualifying — but an executor who takes up the role without renouncing is bound by the will’s figure.
- Payment can be approved on account
- At any time during the administration the fiduciary may apply to the court for an allowance upon compensation and upon attorney fees. On a long administration that matters: the money does not have to wait for the final accounting.
- Nobody but the legislature can set a docket fee
- K.S.A. 59-104(a)(2) is the strongest anti-variance language in this database. The docket fee is the only fee collected for docketing, it may only be established by an act of the legislature, and no other authority is established to collect one. Whatever county you file in, the figure is the same.
- The bond base leaves out the real estate
- Not less than 125 per cent of the personal property plus the probable annual income from real estate. The land itself is outside the base, so an estate whose main asset is a house carries a much smaller bond than its headline value suggests. Compare Louisiana, which computes on one and a quarter times the whole inventory.
- A waived bond can be reinstated with no reason given
- Kansas honours a bond waiver — and then lets the court require a bond at any time, on the application of any interested party or on its own motion, with no cause required and no objection needed. That is a weaker waiver than most states offer.
- You can find out what publication will cost before you buy it
- Every newspaper that publishes legal advertisements files a rate card with the county clerk by 1 July, effective for the year. The rate cannot exceed the paper’s lowest regular classified rate for commercial customers, and cannot rise by more than fifteen per cent in a year. No other state in this database gives a family a filed, obtainable document to check the price against.
- The $75,000 allowance is not a small-estate limit
- Kansas uses the same figure twice for different purposes, and it is easy to confuse. The spousal and minor-children allowance is a ceiling of $75,000.00 in money or property, the exact amount fixed by the court. The small-estate routes below also sit at $75,000.00. They are different provisions doing different jobs.
Kansas draws the line at $75,000 — but there are two routes with two different bases
Both routes sit at the same figure and count different things, which is where Kansas estimates go wrong. There is also a third route with no value test at all.
- Route 1 — affidavit transfer, no court at all. Where the total assets of the estate subject to probate do not exceed $75,000.00, any personal property transferable to the estate must be transferred to a person claiming to be a successor, without letters of administration or letters testamentary, on that successor furnishing an affidavit showing entitlement. The affidavit is sufficient if in substantial compliance with the Judicial Council’s form, and the successor’s receipt is a full discharge and release for the holder.
- Route 2 — refusal to grant letters, by court order. Where the real and personal estate of the decedent does not exceed $75,000.00 and the estate is not subject to the spousal allowances or they are waived, any heir, devisee, legatee, creditor or other interested person may petition for refusal of letters — by giving bond in a sum of not less than the value of the estate, approved by the court, and taking on the obligation to pay the debts in the order of their preference and distribute the balance. Real estate sold under this route is deemed to have marketable title as ordered by the court, and no creditor, heir or other person is deemed to have an interest after six months from the date of death.
- The two bases are different. Route 1 counts only property subject to probate and moves personal property only. Route 2 counts the real estate too. The same $75,000.00 therefore lets in different estates depending on which route you take.
- Route 2 is also available with no figure at all where the value of the property is no greater than the exempt property plus the allowance to the surviving spouse or minor children.
- Route 3 — the Kansas Simplified Estates Act, no value threshold whatever. At the hearing on a petition for appointment or for probate of a will, the court determines whether the estate is administered as a simplified estate or a supervised one, and may consider the size of the estate, the degree of kinship of the heirs and those seeking appointment, the solvency of the estate, its nature, the wishes of the heirs and devisees, the probable cost of administration and settlement, and any other pertinent matters.
- The court enters an order terminating the administration without notice unless it orders otherwise, and a will filed under the refusal route within six months of the death may be admitted to probate after that six-month period.
The $75,000 figure moves, and it has moved recently. The affidavit section was last amended in 2024, and its history line shows the figure changing in 2000, 2005, 2008, 2023 and 2024. Any Kansas guide more than a year or two old is likely to carry a stale number.
K.S.A. 59-1507b; K.S.A. 59-2287; K.S.A. 59-3202 — Kansas Statutes Annotated · Verified 8 Aug 2026
Check your own estate against the Kansas route →
Three tools, in the order most people need them
Kansas probate cost questions
How much does an executor get paid in Kansas?
Kansas sets no percentage and no commission. The statute allows every fiduciary their necessary expenses and such compensation for their services, and those of their attorneys, as shall be just and reasonable — and the court decides what that comes to. No factors are listed. Payment can be approved during the administration rather than only at the end. One thing to check first: if the will provides for the executor’s compensation, that is the executor’s full compensation unless they file a written instrument renouncing all claim to it.
Does Kansas set probate attorney fees by statute?
No, and unusually the same sentence covers the lawyer and the executor together. The fiduciary is allowed compensation for their own services and those of their attorneys as shall be just and reasonable, judged by one standard and approved by one court. Two fee-shifting routes sit alongside it: someone who propounds a will in good faith and with just cause, or successfully opposes one, gets expenses plus just and proper compensation win or lose, and an heir or beneficiary who successfully brings or defends another action for the benefit of the ultimate recipients may be allowed a reasonable attorney fee at the court’s discretion.
What does it cost to file for probate in Kansas?
One hundred and nine dollars fifty, flat, for the probate of an estate or of a will. It is the same in every county — the statute says the docket fee may only be established by an act of the legislature and no other authority may collect one. Smaller matters have their own figures on the same list: forty-eight fifty to refuse letters of administration, forty-nine fifty to determine descent of property, one hundred and seventy-three dollars for a decree in probate from another state. Where the estate’s total assets do not exceed ten thousand dollars, the court may remit the costs altogether.
Does an executor need a bond in Kansas?
Usually a bond is required, and where one is the statute sets a floor rather than a price: not less than 125 per cent of the personal property plus the probable annual income from any real estate coming into the executor’s hands. The real estate itself is outside that base. A bond can be excused four ways — the will waives it, all the heirs or beneficiaries file a written waiver, a conservator or guardian waives on behalf of someone they represent, or the fiduciary is a Kansas bank or trust company. None of those is final: the court may require a bond at any time, on anyone’s application or on its own motion, with no reason given.
Does Kansas have a small estate affidavit?
Yes, at seventy-five thousand dollars, and there is a second route at the same figure that counts different property. The affidavit route looks only at assets subject to probate, moves personal property, and needs no court: the successor signs the Judicial Council’s form and the holder must transfer. The refusal-of-letters route counts the real estate too and needs a court order, and whoever petitions must post a bond for at least the value of the estate and take on paying the debts. There is also the Simplified Estates Act, which has no value threshold at all and turns on the judge weighing the size, solvency and complexity of the estate.
Sources & verification
Every figure on this page was checked against the official source on the date shown. The Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes publishes one clean page per section, so each link below opens the exact section we read.
- Attorney fee and fiduciary compensation — one section — K.S.A. 59-1717 www.ksrevisor.govVerified 8 Aug 2026 · L. 1939 ch.180 §147, unamended since enactment · annual statutory re-check
- The will-clause rule and the fee-shifting routes — K.S.A. 59-1504 www.ksrevisor.govVerified 8 Aug 2026 · L. 1939 ch.180 §115 through L. 1975 ch.299 §11 · annual statutory re-check
- Docket fee, and the bar on any other fee — K.S.A. 59-104 www.ksrevisor.govVerified 6 Aug 2026 · all sixteen figures transcribed from the section and written by code · the $22 supreme court surcharge authority expired 30 June 2025 · annual statutory re-check
- Remission of court costs on a small estate — K.S.A. 59-2215 www.ksrevisor.govVerified 6 Aug 2026 · discretionary remission where total assets do not exceed $10,000 · annual statutory re-check
- Publication rate ceiling and the filed rate card — K.S.A. 28-137, with 28-137b www.ksrevisor.govVerified 9 Aug 2026 · §28-137 history ends L. 1989 ch.115 §1; §28-137b is L. 1981 ch.173, unamended · a cross-reference to K.S.A. 75-1018 is printed on the section page · annual statutory re-check
- Publication schedule — K.S.A. 59-2209 www.ksrevisor.govVerified 6 Aug 2026 · three consecutive weeks, first insertion within 30 days of the order · annual statutory re-check
- Bond amount and excusal — K.S.A. 59-1101 and K.S.A. 59-1104 www.ksrevisor.govVerified 6 Aug 2026 · §§59-1102 to 59-1109 not read; none affects the 125 per cent floor · annual statutory re-check
- Small-estate routes — K.S.A. 59-1507b, with K.S.A. 59-2287 and K.S.A. 59-3202 www.ksrevisor.govVerified 8 Aug 2026 · §59-1507b last amended L. 2024 ch.35 §2; the figure has moved in 2000, 2005, 2008, 2023 and 2024 · annual re-check, and this one drifts
- Spousal and minor-children allowance — K.S.A. 59-403 www.ksrevisor.govVerified 8 Aug 2026 · the $75,000 ceiling is a 2023 figure, L. 2023 ch.77 §1 · this is an allowance, not a small-estate threshold · annual statutory re-check
Researched and verified by John Terra · Methodology
This page is information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws and fee schedules change; every figure here was verified on the date stamped beside it. For advice about your own situation, consult an attorney licensed in Kansas. Full terms: /disclaimer/ · Privacy
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