Free Kansas Last Will and Testament

What Should be in a Last Will and Testament in Kansas

You care about the wellbeing of your kids and you'd like your estate protected after your death, don’t you? How about creating a will to make you have everything covered after your demise? While it is not a subject that comes up in social or even professional gatherings, unless there is a scandal on everyone's lips, you ought to take time and take about it with your family. Haven't you seen families that no longer communicate because their loved one did not outline their wishes regarding property distribution letting the state decide to share property? Of course, the state will not know what you wanted done of you don’t put it down in writing. What about all those families in court because the will created was not as inclusive (say a child or secret family did not receive a share of the inheritance). All these cases are sad, and the worst bit is that the outcome could have been different - if only you created a will; and recognized everyone deserving of your estate (children and close friends). Taking all that into account, isn't a will something you want to prepare now? It is never too late or too early to create a will, as long as you are an adult (18 years) or older. In the state of Kansas, you can either engage a lawyer (get a will and pay money), or you could download a free Kansas last will and testament online (create a will and save some money). The latter being the easier option, all you need to do is to ensure that your last will and testament form is created according to the provisions of code section §59-601, et seq. of the law. Asking why you shouldn't write one now? Well, by using the form rather than writing one, you end up with a will which has all the important details that complete and validate the will in the probate court. For validity, you have to meet some conditions: You, (the testator - person creating the will) should be over 18 years, as mentioned above, of sound mind, acting out of their own volition, and they should sign the will. The will also requires signatures of 2 witnesses and a list of beneficiaries. The witnesses should not be beneficiaries, and they have to sign the will only after seeing the testator sign it. Which brings us to our next point, the will must be in writing. Oral and handwritten wills are invalid. The other condition that makes the will valid is its presentation in the probate court in good time. Kansas requires that the will gets filed with the probate court within 6 months after the decedent dies. Whether the will is valid or not will depend on several factors. Among them: the size of the estate, the degree of kinship of heirs, devisees/ persons looking for appointment, nature, and solvency of the estate, wishes of the devisees and the heirs, as well as the probable cost of administration, and the settlement of the estate. If you ever need to amend the will voluntarily, you can use a codicil to make the small changes as long as the amendment follows the same structure as the one followed when creating the older version of the will. You can also revoke the will at any time. To revoke it, you may create a whole new will - you could put it down on paper and the will should have the date it is created for identification especially when more than one will exists. Alternatively, revocation is possible through obliteration, burning, cancelation, or tearing of the will while intending to revoke its powers.

Which are the common uses of wills?

A free last will and testament in Kansas protects your children. You can use it to name a guardian for your kids. You could also use the will to create trusts called testamentary trusts (trusts created with wills), and you could also use the will allocate a certain percentage of money in the name of your children ensuring that they are secure, even in your absence. You could also use it to create a testamentary trust for your pets. The trust stays active for as long as your pet is alive. Distribution of assets and gifting friends or charitable organization is made possible by the will too.
  • Preventing intestacy laws. A will prevents the state from distributing your assets. That happens because, in the absence of the will, the state invokes intestacy laws which determine which member of your family gets what.
    • In Kansas, surviving kids and spouse are allocated half of the estate each.
    • Without kids, the spouse inherits the estate in entirety.
    • In the absence of kids or spouse, the estate is inherited by close relatives like parents, grandparents or siblings. Basically, close relatives are high up on the list of persons who could inherit your estate.

  • Checklist for creating last will and testament

    • A list of beneficiaries and what they inherit: the dollar value of the inheritance, specific objects inherited, or the percentage of the estate inherited.
    • Name of executor: person to oversee the estate, submit will to the probate court, pay bills, debts, and taxes, or distribution of assets. Include a successor (alternate to the executor).
    • Guardian for dependent or minor kids as well as their successor and their responsibilities.
Get your Kansas last will and testament form from us to get started today.

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