Is An Online Will Legally Valid in Kansas?

Kansas doesn't penalize a will for being drafted online, but it does have rules about what happens next. Here's what you need to know.

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Don’t worry, FeedingBird guides you through the details one step at a time.

What Makes an Online Will Legally Valid in Kansas?

Online wills are legal in Kansas, but the document still needs to be printed on paper and signed the traditional way. It must be signed by the person stating their wishes (the testator), or by someone else at the testator's direction, and signed by two or more competent witnesses who watched the testator sign or heard them acknowledge the will. Notarization is only required in the instance of a self-providing will, but not for a normal online will.

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Unlike some neighboring states, Kansas does not recognize holographic, or wholly handwritten, wills. Even a will written entirely by hand still needs two witnesses to be valid.

What You Need to Know about Online Wills in Kansas

Each state has their own estate laws that can vary significantly and be extremely difficult to decipher. In order to avoid a long, complex legal process, you should make sure your online will is structured appropriately.

Kansas Property Laws

Kansas is a common law property state. Unlike a community property state, this means that ownership is defined by whose name is on the title, deed, or account.

Kansas Probate

In the state of Kansas, all wills go through probate unless the total assets subject to probate are $75,000 or less, a threshold the state raised from $40,000 in 2023. Otherwise, you will need to consider a revocable living trust if you want to avoid probate. Notably, Kansas does not impose a state estate or inheritance tax.

Avoiding Probate in Kansas

• Revocable living trust: A living trust lets you have full control over your estate and grants privacy to the proceedings in the avoidance of probate. You name a successor trustee who will manage distributing your assets after your death.

• Beneficiaries for financial and retirement accounts: A payable-on-death (POD) designation will specify who receives payment and a transfer-on-death (TOD) designation names a new owner for those accounts upon your death.

• Joint ownership with right of survivorship: Establishing this his gives your spouse or another co-owner automatic ownership of any joint property.

Looking to learn more about trusts? Find out what is required to put your trust together.