Kansas: Personal Property Memorandum Requirements
The short answer
Yes. K.S.A. § 59-623 lets a will refer to a separate statement or list for tangible personal property not otherwise specifically disposed of, except money, debt evidence, title documents, securities, and trade-or-business property. The writing must be in the testator's handwriting or signed by the testator and must describe the items with reasonable certainty. It may be prepared before or after the will and altered later, but the statute states no date or conflict-priority rule.
Ask Ezel about your situation
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 device recognized | Yes—written statement or list under K.S.A. § 59-623 |
|---|---|
| Will reference required | Yes; the will must refer to the statement or list and may describe it as one to exist at the testator's death (§ 59-623) |
| Eligible property and exclusions | Tangible personal property not otherwise specifically disposed of; excludes money, debt evidence, title documents, securities, and trade-or-business property. No value cap stated (§ 59-623) |
| Signature, handwriting, and date | Either in the testator's handwriting or signed by the testator; no date, witness, notary, or signature-placement condition stated (§ 59-623) |
| Item and devisee identification | Items must be described with reasonable certainty; the section states no separate reasonable-certainty formula for identifying recipients (§ 59-623) |
| Timing before or after the will | May be prepared before or after will execution and may be described as one to exist at death (§ 59-623) |
| Alteration, replacement, and conflict priority | Testator may alter the writing after preparation; no required alteration formality, replacement method, or priority rule for conflicting writings stated (§ 59-623) |
| Probate use, effect, and failure consequence | Qualifying writing is admissible as evidence of intended disposition; no separate filing, delivery, lapse, or savings rule stated (§ 59-623) |
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Requirements one by one
The will and eligible property
K.S.A. § 59-623 permits a will to refer to a written statement or list for
tangible personal property that the will does not otherwise specifically
dispose of. The will may refer to a writing that will exist at the testator's
death, so the list need not exist when the will is executed.
The device excludes money, evidences of debt, documents of title, securities,
and property used in trade or business. The section states no per-item or
aggregate value ceiling.
Handwriting or signature and item identification
Kansas provides two execution alternatives: the writing must either be in the
testator's handwriting or be signed by the testator. It also must describe the
items with reasonable certainty.
The section does not add a date, witness, notarization, or signature-placement
condition. Unlike many similar statutes, its reasonable-certainty sentence
expressly names the items but does not separately say that devisees or
recipients must be described with reasonable certainty. That omission should
not be replaced with invented statutory requirements for a recipient's full
legal name, relationship, address, or alternate.
Timing and later alteration
The writing may be prepared before or after execution of the will, and the
testator may alter it after preparation. Section 59-623 does not prescribe a
special formality for each alteration or say which of two conflicting writings
controls.
The writing offered under the section still must satisfy the handwriting-or-
signature choice and reasonably certain item-description condition. The
section does not require every change to be separately initialed, signed, or
dated.
Evidentiary effect
A writing that satisfies § 59-623 is admissible as evidence of the intended
disposition. The section states no separate probate filing or delivery
procedure and no lapse or savings rule.
What trips people up
A physical item can still be excluded because it is money, a document of
title, a security, evidence of debt, or trade-or-business property. The
memorandum also cannot redirect an item that the will already specifically
disposes of.
The ability to prepare or alter the writing after the will does not create a
statutory newest-writing-wins rule. Kansas states no priority rule for
conflicting lists and does not say that a list overrides a specific gift in the
will.
Common questions
Must the list be dated?
Section 59-623 states no dating condition. The writing must be in the
testator's handwriting or signed by the testator and must describe the items
with reasonable certainty.
Can the list be created after the will is signed?
Yes. The writing may be prepared before or after execution of the will, and the
will may refer to one that will exist at the testator's death.
Can the list be changed later?
Yes. The testator may alter it after preparation. The statute states no special
initialing, re-signing, re-dating, replacement, or conflict-priority rule.
Must witnesses or a notary sign the list?
No witness or notary condition appears in § 59-623. Its execution alternatives
are the testator's handwriting or the testator's signature.
Statutes and sources
- K.S.A. § 59-623 — will reference, property scope and exclusions,
handwriting or signature, item identification, timing, alteration, and
admissibility. Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes:
https://ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch59/059_006_0023.html (accessed
2026-08-11).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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