A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed Kansas descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.
Route context
Kansas probate is handled by the District Court. Small estates up to $75,000 in personal property transfer by affidavit (K.S.A. 59-1507b), and the Kansas Simplified Estates Act (K.S.A. 59-3201 to 59-3206) offers a streamlined court administration in lieu of full supervision. The statewide probate docket fee is $109.50 (K.S.A. 59-104), and fiduciary compensation is 'just and reasonable' under K.S.A. 59-1717 with no statutory percentage schedule.
Kansas offers two abbreviated routes. (1) Small estate affidavit (K.S.A. 59-1507b): transfer a decedent's personal property by affidavit when the total assets of the estate subject to probate do not exceed $75,000 in value; the statute states no fixed post-death waiting period (threshold raised to $75,000 by L. 2024, ch. 35). (2) Kansas Simplified Estates Act (K.S.A. 59-3201 to 59-3206): a court-administered but streamlined alternative to full supervised administration. On the hearing of a petition for appointment of an administrator or for probate of a will where administration is sought under the Act, the court determines under K.S.A. 59-3202 whether the estate is administered as a simplified estate or a supervised estate, considering the size of the estate, the degree of kinship of the heirs and persons seeking appointment, the solvency of the estate, its nature, the wishes of the heirs and devisees, the probable cost of administration, and other pertinent matters. The Simplified Estates Act is a procedure, not a dollar-threshold shortcut, and coexists with the § 59-1507b affidavit.
Cost context
K.S.A. 59-104 sets a statewide docket fee of $109.50 for the probate of an estate or of a will. A temporary $22 non-judicial-personnel surcharge applied only 'On and after July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2025' and has expired, so $109.50 is the operative fee as of the review date.
$109.50 is the recorded statewide amount.
Deadline context
Kansas keeps three separate claim clocks. Under K.S.A. 59-2239 a demand is forever barred unless presented within the LATER of (a) four months from the date of first publication of notice to creditors under K.S.A. 59-2236, or (b) where the creditor is known or reasonably ascertainable, 30 days after actual notice was given. Both run only if the estate is opened: no creditor has a claim unless a petition for probate or administration is filed within six months after the decedent's death. The four-month period is stated in months, so it is not reduced to a fixed number of days.
- The $22 non-judicial-personnel docket surcharge under K.S.A. 59-104 expired June 30, 2025; the operative fee is $109.50. If revived by later legislation this must be rechecked.
- No Kansas Judiciary court-resource URL could be included because kscourts.gov and kjc.ks.gov return 403 to automated clients; the statewide small-estate form is the Kansas Judicial Council Decedent's Estate affidavit.
- Creditor framework now sourced to K.S.A. 59-2239 and 59-2236 (four months from first publication; 30 days from actual notice to a known creditor, later-of; estate must be opened within six months of death). The four-month and six-month periods are stated in months and are left as descriptions rather than fixed day counts.
- Kansas Simplified Estates Act (K.S.A. 59-3201 to 59-3206) added as a distinct administration route; it is procedure-based (K.S.A. 59-3202 court determination) rather than a dollar threshold, so no numeric cap is asserted for it.