Kansas: Estate Inventory and Appraisement Requirements
The short answer
A Kansas personal representative must make an affidavit-verified inventory and valuation within 30 days after letters of appointment unless the court grants longer, although the court may require an earlier inventory for good cause. It assigns full and fair death-date values to specified Kansas real and tangible property and known or possessed intangible property, with a separate partnership inventory when applicable. Independent appraisement occurs only on an interested party's request, and later-discovered assets require a supplemental inventory filed within 30 days after discovery.
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This is the general rule in Kansas. Ask about your specific facts and see which parts of current Kansas law apply, with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and administration type | Ordinary personal-representative inventory and valuation under K.S.A. §§ 59-1201 to -1205; separate request-triggered independent appraisement |
|---|---|
| Who prepares, signs, and verifies | Personal representative makes inventory and verifies by affidavit; requested appraisers certify under oath and deliver to representative (§§ 59-1201, -1202) |
| Deadline, trigger, and extension | Initial: 30 days after letters unless court grants longer; court may require earlier for good cause. Appraisers and supplement each have 30-day clocks (§§ 59-1201 to -1203) |
| Court filing or private delivery | § 59-1201 says make/verify initial inventory; requested appraisement and supplemental inventory expressly filed with district court; no private-delivery route (§§ 59-1202, -1203) |
| Property scope, exclusions, and encumbrances | Kansas real estate/tangible property plus known or possessed intangible property wherever located; statutory classes/details and partnership schedule; no general encumbrance field (§§ 59-1201, -1204, -1205) |
| Valuation date and method | Full and fair value opposite each item as of death; partnership estate and decedent's proportional share separately valued (§ 59-1201) |
| Appraiser requirement and qualifications | No independent appraisement unless interested party requests; representative appoints ≤3 court-approved appraisers; oath certification and court-set compensation (§ 59-1202) |
| Recipients, confidentiality, and access | Inventory article states no copy/service recipients, private delivery, confidentiality, sealing, redaction, or inspection rule (§§ 59-1201 to -1205) |
| Correction, supplementation, and noncompliance | Later-discovered assets: supplemental inventory within 30 days; article states no value-error correction route or inventory-specific penalty; court may set earlier initial date (§§ 59-1201, -1203) |
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Requirements one by one
Initial inventory and valuation
K.S.A. § 59-1201 gives the personal representative 30 days after the date of the letters of appointment to make the inventory and valuation unless the court grants longer. The court can move the deadline in the other direction too: for good cause, it may require an earlier inventory and valuation.
The representative verifies the inventory by affidavit and states the full and fair death-date value opposite each item. The section itself uses the verb “make” for this initial inventory. By contrast, the next two sections expressly require court filing for a requested independent appraisement and a supplemental inventory.
Property categories and partnership interests
Section 59-1201 covers Kansas real estate and tangible personal property, plus intangible property wherever located that comes to the representative's possession or knowledge. Its required categories are real estate with a plat or survey description; furniture, household goods, and clothing; corporate stocks identified by certificate number; bonds, mortgages, notes, and other written debts identified by debtor, recording data, and other details; and all other accurately identified personal property.
A partnership interest gets a separate treatment. The inventory and valuation must show both the whole partnership estate and the decedent's proportional share.
K.S.A. § 59-1204 preserves a debt despite will language that discharges or bequeaths it when creditor rights require the asset. K.S.A. § 59-1205 separately provides that naming a debtor as executor does not erase the testator's just claim; it remains an inventory asset.
Requested independent appraisement
K.S.A. § 59-1202 begins with the opposite of a standing appraisal requirement: “No independent appraisement shall be made” unless an interested party requests one. On request, the representative appoints no more than three appraisers, subject to court approval unless good cause is shown against approval.
The appraisers have 30 days after appointment to value the inventory items. They certify the inventory and appraisement under oath, deliver it to the representative, and the representative files it with the district court. The court fixes reasonable compensation.
Later-discovered assets
K.S.A. § 59-1203 requires a supplemental inventory when an asset omitted from the existing inventory later comes into the representative's knowledge or possession. The representative states the value opposite each new item and files the supplement with the court within 30 days after discovery.
The complete §§ 59-1201 through -1205 article states no separate route for correcting only an erroneous value or description and no inventory-specific fine, removal, contempt, or bond consequence.
What trips people up
An interested party's request changes who performs the independent valuation, but it does not authorize an unlimited appraiser panel. The representative appoints at most three, and the court reviews those appointments.
The statute asks for a separate inventory and valuation of an actual partnership estate and the decedent's proportional share. It does not state that every LLC or other business interest automatically uses that partnership schedule.
Common questions
Does every Kansas estate need an independent appraiser?
No. Independent appraisement occurs only when a party with an estate interest requests it.
Are out-of-state intangible assets included?
Yes, when they are owned by the decedent and come to the personal representative's possession or knowledge. The real-estate and tangible-property language is limited to Kansas-located property.
How quickly must a newly found asset be reported?
The supplemental inventory must be filed within 30 days after the representative discovers the asset.
Statutes and sources
- K.S.A. § 59-1201 — initial inventory, affidavit, property classes, values, partnership schedule, and timing. Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes (accessed August 10, 2026).
- K.S.A. § 59-1202 — request-triggered independent appraisement. The section limits the panel to three court-approved appraisers, gives them 30 days, requires oath certification, and directs district-court filing. Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes (accessed August 10, 2026).
- K.S.A. § 59-1203 — later-discovered assets. A valued supplemental inventory is due within 30 days after discovery. Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes (accessed August 10, 2026).
- K.S.A. §§ 59-1204 and 59-1205 — debts and claims that remain inventory assets. Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes (accessed August 10, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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