We all have reasons for procrastinating when it comes to estate planning. However, before you put this important life decision back on the shelf again, you might want to know a few of the things that can happen to your money and possessions upon your death if you haven’t planned. These Kansas probate rules may encourage you to move just a little quicker to finish or update your estate planning.

Did you know?

• Kansas probate law states that if you are married and die without a will, your spouse may not inherit all of your property? If you have children, regardless of their age, your spouse is limited to receiving only one-half (1/2) of your solely owned estate property and your children will split the remaining one-half (1/2). This is also true even if your children are minors. If this is not what you want to have happen upon your death, you need to set up beneficiary designations or have a Last Will and Testament or Trust immediately prepared for you that clearly states your wishes.
• If you and your spouse are living separately but you are not legally divorced, upon your death, your spouse may still receive the same estate share as described above. Even if you sign a Last Will and Testament attempting to completely disinherit your spouse from your estate, if your spouse has not consented to that document, then unless you have a divorce decree or other written, legally binding agreement, by law your spouse will be entitled to a certain percentage of your estate depending on the number of years you were married before your death and the value of your aggregate estate. Your spouse is also entitled to your homestead.
• If your spouse predeceased you and you had no children and you didn’t update your Last Will and Testament to name a new beneficiary of your estate after your spouse died, when you die your entire estate will pass to your parents. If your parents are still living, this inheritance could present a taxation problem for them depending on the size of their estate and what they would inherit from you. If your parents have been trying to reduce their own estate value to avoid unnecessary estate taxes, this new inheritance may create a taxable estate for them. Additionally, if you have a parent who is in the nursing home and receiving state aid, then your estate may be claimed by Medicaid. If your parents are no longer living, your estate will be divided among your living siblings. If you prefer that other beneficiaries benefit from your estate, you should put planning in place now.

​These are just a few of the Kansas probate laws that control what happens to your money and property after your death. If you have questions about probate or estate planning matters, contact Davis & McCann, P.A., Dodge City, Kansas at 620-225-1674. We are members of Wealth Counsel, a national consortium of Estate Planning Attorneys and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). We focus our practice on providing clients with the best legal advice on Estate Planning, Medicaid and Long-term Care Planning, Special Needs Planning, Family Business/Small Business Succession Planning, Probate, Trust Administration, Real Estate, 1031 Exchanges, and related matters.

Are you unwittingly making mistakes as an Executor of an Estate? If so, you could be in for a legal battle of your own! To help protect you in your role as Executor, we’re sharing a few of the most common mistakes we’ve seen made by Executors, that you’ll want to avoid.
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1. Rushing to pay Estate bills. Out of habit, an Executor may be inclined to pay Estate bills and invoices as soon as they receive them, just as he/she might do for their own personal bills. However, as an Executor, your job is not that simple. In fact, paying some bills, like credit cards, before other Estate debts, such as taxes and funeral expenses, may expose you to personal liability for a breach of fiduciary duty. We advise seeking guidance from a probate attorney before paying any Estate bills, to ensure that Estate creditors are paid in the proper order according to your State laws.
   
2. Trying to increase Estate funds. It can be tempting to invest Estate assets in an investment opportunity you believe to be a “sure thing”. No matter how convinced you are in the return on the new investment, unless you are willing to personally cover any losses the Estate may suffer, it’s just not worth the risk. Your role as Executor is to CONSERVE the assets; not necessarily grow them. If you elect to invest the Estate funds in a manner inconsistent with the decedent’s existing investment plan and decrease the value of the Estate, you could open yourself up to a lawsuit for breach of fiduciary duty.
3. Mismanaging Estate real estate. If the Estate you are managing owns real property, you need to determine whether the property requires security or needs any maintenance to preserve its current value. We recommend that you consult the property’s insurance agent to ensure proper coverage remains in effect until the property is sold or distributed. If someone is currently living in the Estate home, you may need to negotiate a rental agreement with them or seek assistance for eviction purposes. Additionally, you likely will need to arrange for an appraisal of the property. If the property is a residence, your job may include arranging for the clearing of any personal property and a cleaning of the home. You also will be charged with determining whether improvements should be made to the home in preparation for a sale. 
4. Losing track of Estate personal property items. Would you notice if a few of Grandma’s favorite rings disappeared? Once you are appointed by the Court to your position as Executor, making an inventory of all Estate assets should be a priority. Failing to do a timely inventory of assets, specifically personal property, will make it difficult to determine if items go missing. It is not uncommon for family members to “help themselves” to personal items of a deceased family member, without obtaining the required permission from the Executor. It is often recommended that the Executor change the locks on all properties containing personal items as soon as possible to avoid anything going missing. This move will help protect you from being sued by beneficiaries who may claim they did not receive their full distribution because you did not responsibly protect the Estate assets.
5. Distributing Estate assets too quickly. You must reserve sufficient assets to pay any Estate bills, such as creditor claims, utilities, professionals (i.e. accountants, attorneys, and realtors) and taxes. Executors are often pressured by heirs to distribute some or all of their inherited share as soon as possible, sometimes within weeks of the funeral. We advise taking a very cautious approach to asset distribution as you will be held personally liable if the distribution is mishandled. Your Estate accountant and attorney will be helpful in deciding how much and when to make distributions. Your role does not require you to meet the distribution demands of the beneficiaries. Instead, your job is to oversee the Estate in such a way that the assets are preserved, Court requirements are fulfilled, final Estate bills are paid, and THEN distributions can be made.
   
   If you have questions about Kansas probates, contact Davis & McCann, P.A., Dodge City, Kansas at 620-225-1674. We are members of Wealth Counsel, a national consortium of Estate Planning Attorneys and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). We focus our practice on providing clients with the best legal advice on Estate Planning, Medicaid and Long-term Care Planning, Special Needs Planning, Family Business/Small Business Succession Planning, Probate, Trust Administration, Real Estate, 1031 Exchanges, and related matters.

If you or a family member have faced a recent health scare, such as the kind presented by the Coronavirus, it’s likely that you’ve been told to update your Last Will and Testament. You may have had a new Will prepared or had your previous Will updated with a Codicil. While preparing a Will generally is a move in the right direction when it comes to estate planning, it may not be the “best” option for you individually.
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A Will is one of the most basic levels of estate planning that you can do in order to direct how and to whom your assets will be distributed upon your death. People often misunderstand the estate process and assume that their assets will automatically pass to the beneficiaries found in their Will after their death. What they don’t realize, is that assets that pass by way of a Last Will and Testament must first go through the probate process before any distributions can legally take place.  

To clear up some of that confusion, here are some answers to common misconceptions surrounding the probate process:

1. If you have a Will, your family will not have to go through a probate. Not true! In fact, if you do Will-based planning, you are planning for a probate. This means your estate will go through a court process and be open to public examination before your beneficiaries will receive their inheritance. Your named Executor under the Will cannot even act on behalf of your estate until the court has granted them approval to do so.

​2. Probate is a simple and speedy process. This is rarely true. On average, it takes up to 16 months to settle an estate.  That’s a significant wait time for beneficiaries to receive the assets you intended them to have. Additionally, you will need legal assistance if you are required to open a probate in an estate due to the complexity of the process. Professional help from a good probate attorney will be your best insurance for preventing unnecessary expenses and delays during the probate process.

Q: “My mother, who resided in Kansas, died in June. She had a Last Will and Testament and owned several pieces of real estate. She told us children that we would receive an equal share of her estate. How long will I have to wait to receive my share and what situations might delay the distribution?”

A: Because your mother chose to use a Will as her estate planning strategy, her estate will require a probate action initiated by the filing of a Petition for Probate of Will with the District Court in the county of her permanent residence. Filing must happen within six months after the date of her death. Failure to file her Will within this six month period will result in her estate being handled as if no Will existed. Anyone having knowledge and access to her Will may offer it for probate at any time within the six months following her death. Usually, the Executor or Administrator named in her Will is responsible for filing the Petition with the assistance of a probate attorney. 

Your Mother’s estate may need to file a federal estate tax return. Kansas currently doesn’t have an estate tax, so no state estate tax return should be necessary, unless your Mother owned property in another state. Tax payments are due no later than nine months after the date of death. For your mother’s estate, these tax returns must be filed and paid (if applicable) no later than next March, unless an extension has been properly requested. Additionally, if your mother owned property in a state other than Kansas, a separate probate action in that state may be required.

After the Petition for Probate of Will has been filed, you generally can expect the Executor or Administrator to be appointed by the Court within 4 to 5 weeks from the date the petition is filed.

If your mother had outstanding debts due to creditors, they have 4 months after they have been notified to file their claims against the estate. Any distributions of an estate will typically not occur until after this time period has run.

Since each estate is unique, no exact time schedule can be given for the length necessary to probate an estate. Distributions to beneficiaries generally don’t happen until the estate is ready to close, but if circumstances warrant it, the Executor or Administrator may do a partial distribution prior to that time.

Some factors that may delay an estate closure and distribution can include:

1. Appraisal of real property, equipment and household items. A certified appraiser is not always available in a timely fashion, especially for rural residents. Certified appraisers are often booked out months in advance, or must travel long distances, so obtaining a quick appraisal for the real estate isn’t always feasible. If family members are contentious, multiple appraisals may be required to satisfy the parties involved, which can add to the delay.

You’ve been named as a beneficiary of someone’s Last Will and Testament! What does that mean and what can you expect?

As a beneficiary, the Grantor of the will named you to receive something from their estate. It could be anything from cash, stock, investments, real estate, minerals, or a personal possession. An Executor is the person the Grantor named to be in charge of managing estate assets, paying estate bills, working with the estate accountant and attorney, distributing the estate assets, etc. This is the first person to whom you should address your questions about the estate. As a beneficiary, you have certain rights in the probate case. Here’s a few pointers on what you can expect from the Executor and the probate process:

Executors have fiduciary duties and must put the interest of the estate before their own personal desires, even if they also are a beneficiary of the will. Although Executors are required to act prudently, many Executors lack the skills or knowledge they need to handle an estate administration. Without professional guidance from an experienced attorney, Executors can easily mishandle an Estate and be subject to monetary and legal ramifications.

Executors must:

1. Put estate beneficiaries’ financial interests above their own;
2. Protect estate assets by preserving their value until final distribution;
4. Be impartial toward all beneficiaries regarding distributions;
5. Follow the instructions given in the will;
6. Keep good financial records of all estate account activities and provide a copy of these records to beneficiaries upon request;
7. Pay estate bills and beneficiaries when deemed appropriate by the Court or according to state law (creditors are paid before beneficiaries, so final distribution amounts may be lower than what is stated in the will); and
8. Communicate with creditors and beneficiaries pursuant to state law.

Executors cannot:

Q: My grandfather has very few assets except his residence in Kansas. He would like his house to go to my mother upon his death. Is there any way the property can transfer to my mother without a probate?

A: One of the easiest ways to accomplish this would be for your grandfather to execute a transfer on death deed to your mother. The transfer on death deed will transfer ownership of the property at your grandfather’s death, without probate, to your mother or any other person he names on the deed. 
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How does the transfer on death deed work in Kansas? The property owner (the “Grantor”) executes a specific deed that names a successor beneficiary as the recipient of the property at the Grantor’s death. The deed is then signed before a notary and recorded with the Register of Deeds in the county where the property is located.

The Grantor remains the legal owner while living. In addition, he may revoke the deed at any time prior to death by executing and recording a formal revocation or new deed with the county Register of Deeds. At the Grantor’s death, the person named as the beneficiary on the deed becomes the new property owner as soon as the Grantor’s death certificate is filed against the property.

Advantages/Disadvantages of transfer on death deed:

1. The property will pass to the named person after Grantor’s death without an expensive and lengthy probate.

2. The Grantor retains ownership and control of the property so long as he/she is living.

3. The property passes to the new owner immediately after the Grantor’s death. No delay occurs in the transfer of ownership; only the recording of the Grantor’s certified death certificate with the county Register of Deeds is required.

4. A transfer on death deed also can be used to transfer mineral interests.
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5. A transfer on death deed provides future flexibility and the ability to revoke or change beneficiaries.

​Q: Dad died without a Will or Trust. From what I understand of Kansas law, my sibling and I will share equally in one-half (1/2) of his estate and Mom will inherit the other one-half (1/2). My parents were not economically stable at the time of my father’s death. My sibling and I both are financially comfortable, are not married and have no children. Is there any way we can reject our inheritance, and have it go to our mother so she could live more comfortably?

A: Under Kansas probate law, you and your sibling can disclaim your inheritance, which would allow your mother to receive 100% of your father’s estate. If you had children, your share would pass to them, instead of your mother, pursuant to Kansas intestate law. However, in this situation, the disclaimers from you and your sibling would provide for your shares to be redirected to your mother. 

Disclaimers are used in post-mortem (after death) planning for different reasons. One major reason is to avoid unnecessary tax issues. If a parent leaves his well-off children property this bequest may create future estate tax problems for his grandchildren. If the children disclaim the property now, it can often pass directly to the grandchildren who may not have an estate tax problem. 

There are a few rules you must also follow if you intend to disclaim inherited property. 

1. Written Document. Your disclaimer must (1) be a written instrument describing the property, interest or power you are disclaiming; (2) contain a declaration of disclaimer; and (3) be signed and acknowledged by the disclaimant. 

2. Time Limit. States have different laws concerning how long you have to disclaim property, but if you are disclaiming property due to federal estate tax issues, you usually have to file your disclaimer within 9 months of the decedent’s death. Beneficiaries under the age of 21 have additional time to disclaim their interest.

3. No Acceptance. You cannot receive any benefit from the property before disclaiming it. For example, if the property is an investment portfolio, you cannot cash a dividend check and then disclaim the portfolio. If your inheritance is real estate, you can't accept any rent if you intend to later disclaim the property.

When your loved one dies, an experienced probate attorney can be a great asset. If your loved one had a will then there should be a person named to be in charge of wrapping up the estate, called an Executor. The Executor is generally a surviving spouse, an adult child, a trusted friend or relative, or a trust company named in the will. If your loved one had no formal will appointing an Executor, a court appointed Administrator may be required to pass assets on to his/her heirs at law. The Executor or Administrator has a special responsibility to act in the best interest of the Estate beneficiaries and see that the Estate assets and money are not wasted. 

If you are an Executor or Administrator, one of the smartest ways to ensure you are acting in the best interests of the Estate beneficiaries is to hire an experienced probate attorney. Your attorney should be willing to provide you with a basic education of the probate process so you can determine which tasks you can handle independently and which ones will require professional guidance. The Estate is responsible for paying the attorney fees, so there should be no personal cost to you. Hiring a probate attorney who has good communication skills and makes themselves available to you is the ticket to a successful estate administration. 

The following is a sample of services an experienced probate attorney should offer Executors or Administrators during the probate process:
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1. Assist with obtaining copies of death certificates and a dated obituary notice and/or newspaper articles.
2. Coordinate meetings with the decedent’s family and/or beneficiaries, as necessary.
3. Advise on checking the contents of any safe deposit boxes and on obtaining copies of marriage and birth certificates.
4. Help with compiling a list of heirs, next of kin and beneficiaries.
5. Review the decedent’s will with the Executor/Administrator and decedent’s family to determine whether probate is needed and if so, what probate proceeding is most appropriate.
6. Proceed with probate filing, if no trust was created.
7. If necessary, obtain letters testamentary or letters of administration for the executor/administrator from the court.
8. Assist with inventory of tangible real estate property and obtaining real estate deeds, mortgages, leases, and tax information, as well as provide guidance with inventorying and securing personal items such as cars, trucks, boats, recreational vehicles, mobile homes, motorcycles, furniture, fine jewelry, art and personal contents of the home(s).

You know you need to do your estate planning but you have a problem: a “problem child” more specifically, who has caused a kink in your plans. If you have an adult child with a history of mismanaging their life, it’s likely you’ve wrestled with HOW or IF to include them as a beneficiary of your estate. 
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Having an adult child who struggles through life can complicate an otherwise simple estate plan. When our clients are in turmoil over how to include a problem child in their estate, their adult child usually has demonstrated a weakness in one or more of the following areas:

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• Gambling addiction
• Drug or alcohol addiction
• History of criminal activity
• Inability to hold steady employment
• History of financial mismanagement
• Mental health issues
• History of unhealthy relationships or marriages
• History of causing unnecessary drama with other family members

Sadly, if you fret that one of your children will be a problem during the administration of your estate, your worries probably are justified. Death does not often bring out the best in people. The stress that arises after a death can heighten behavioral problems. Here are a few things you can do to reduce the chance of your child creating problems during the administration of your estate:

1. Experience matters. If you suspect that one of your children will be difficult during your estate administration, hire the best estate planning attorney you can find. There are many things you can do yourself, but preparing your own estate plan should not be one of them. Experienced estate planning attorneys possess knowledge of sophisticated legal options that rarely are offered to you on internet sites or by attorneys with little or no estate planning experience. 
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2. Hire a professional fiduciary. If you cannot find anyone to serve as the executor or trustee of your estate, consider this an indicator of brewing problems. It may mean one of your kids has a well-known difficult personality or reputation. If you find this situation to be true, consider hiring a professional advisor or trust company to manage your estate. A professional fiduciary may cost more, but in the long-run it will save legal fees and stress. Professional fiduciaries are accustomed to handling disgruntled family members.