Complex Will with Trust - Kansas

LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME]

KANSAS EXECUTION NOTICE

This is a paper-will form. K.S.A. 59-606 requires a written will signed at the end by the Testator, or by another person in the Testator's presence and at the Testator's express direction, and attested and subscribed in the Testator's presence by at least two competent witnesses. Do not sign until the Testator, both witnesses, and the notarial officer for the self-proving affidavit are together and ready to complete the ceremony.

ARTICLE I — DECLARATIONS

I, [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], residing in [COUNTY] County, Kansas, declare this instrument to be my Last Will and Testament.

I am of sound mind and possess the rights of majority. I revoke my prior wills and codicils to the extent permitted by K.S.A. 59-611.

My family information is:

• Spouse: [SPOUSE FULL LEGAL NAME / NONE]
• Child: [CHILD FULL LEGAL NAME], born [DATE]
• Child: [CHILD FULL LEGAL NAME], born [DATE]
• Other descendants or persons to address: [LIST / NONE]

The terms “descendants” and “by representation” must be reviewed for the Testator's intended family structure, including adoption, assisted reproduction, nonmarital children, stepchildren, and descendants conceived or born after execution.

ARTICLE II — PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE

I nominate [PRIMARY PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE] as Personal Representative. If that person does not serve or ceases to serve, I nominate [SUCCESSOR PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE].

I request that no bond be required except as a court may require. My Personal Representative may exercise every power granted by this Will and Kansas law, subject to fiduciary duties and court supervision where required.

My Personal Representative shall pay enforceable expenses of administration, funeral expenses, taxes, and claims in the order and manner required by law. Any tax-apportionment direction must be separately reviewed and inserted here:

[TAX APPORTIONMENT INSTRUCTION OR “APPORTION AS PROVIDED BY APPLICABLE LAW”]

ARTICLE III — GIFTS BEFORE THE RESIDUE

3.1 Specific Gifts

I make the following gifts:

1. [DESCRIPTION OR AMOUNT] to [BENEFICIARY], if that Beneficiary survives me by [30] days.
2. [DESCRIPTION OR AMOUNT] to [BENEFICIARY], if that Beneficiary survives me by [30] days.
3. [DESCRIPTION OR AMOUNT] to [CHARITY AND IDENTIFYING INFORMATION].

If a named recipient does not satisfy the stated survival condition, the gift passes [TO THE RECIPIENT'S DESCENDANTS BY REPRESENTATION / TO AN ALTERNATE RECIPIENT / INTO THE RESIDUE].

3.2 Tangible Personal Property List

Under K.S.A. 59-623, I may refer to a separate written statement or list disposing of tangible personal property not otherwise specifically disposed of by this Will. The writing must be in my handwriting or signed by me and must describe the items with reasonable certainty. It may not dispose of money, evidences of debt, documents of title, securities, or property used in a trade or business.

Property not effectively disposed of by such a writing passes under the residue of this Will.

ARTICLE IV — RESIDUARY TESTAMENTARY TRUST

I give all the rest, residue, and remainder of my probate estate to [PRIMARY TRUSTEE], as Trustee of the [TESTATOR SURNAME] Testamentary Family Trust created by this Will. K.S.A. 58a-401 authorizes creation of a trust by will, and this Article is intended to identify beneficiaries, impose duties on the Trustee, and state the trust's purposes as required by K.S.A. 58a-402.

If [PRIMARY TRUSTEE] does not serve or ceases to serve, [SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE] shall serve. If no named Trustee serves, a court may fill the vacancy as provided by law.

4.1 Administrative Shares

The Trustee shall divide the trust property into the following shares:

• Spouse's Share: [PERCENTAGE OR “NONE”]
• Descendants' Shares: [PERCENTAGE], divided [EQUALLY / BY REPRESENTATION]
• Other Share: [BENEFICIARY AND PERCENTAGE / NONE]

The total must equal 100%.

4.2 Spouse's Share

If my Spouse survives me by [30] days, the Trustee shall administer the Spouse's Share as follows:

• distribute net income [AT LEAST QUARTERLY / OTHER];
• distribute principal as the Trustee determines advisable for my Spouse's health, education, maintenance, and support, after considering [OTHER RESOURCES / WITHOUT CONSIDERING OTHER RESOURCES]; and
• at my Spouse's death, distribute the remaining share [TO MY THEN-LIVING DESCENDANTS BY REPRESENTATION / OTHER].

If my Spouse does not survive me by the stated period, the Spouse's Share shall be added to the Descendants' Shares.

4.3 Descendant's Separate Share

Each descendant's share shall be held separately. Before final distribution, the Trustee may distribute income and principal for that Beneficiary's health, education, maintenance, and support.

The Trustee shall distribute:

• [ONE-THIRD / OTHER] at age [25];
• [ONE-HALF OF THE REMAINDER / OTHER] at age [30]; and
• the balance at age [35].

If a Beneficiary dies before receiving the entire share, the remaining share passes [TO THAT BENEFICIARY'S DESCENDANTS BY REPRESENTATION / TO THE REMAINING DESCENDANTS / OTHER].

4.4 Protective Administration

If a distribution is payable to a minor or a person the Trustee reasonably believes is incapacitated, the Trustee may use the payment methods permitted by K.S.A. 58a-816(21), including payment to an authorized fiduciary or direct application for the Beneficiary's benefit.

4.5 Spendthrift Provision

Each trust share is a spendthrift trust. Before actual receipt, a Beneficiary may not voluntarily or involuntarily transfer the Beneficiary's interest, and a creditor or assignee may not reach it except as Kansas law otherwise provides. This provision is intended to invoke K.S.A. 58a-502.

ARTICLE V — TRUSTEE ADMINISTRATION

5.1 Mandatory Duties

The Trustee shall:

• administer the trust in good faith, according to its terms and purposes and the interests of the Beneficiaries, under K.S.A. 58a-801;
• act solely in the interests of the Beneficiaries and comply with the loyalty rules of K.S.A. 58a-802;
• exercise reasonable care, skill, and caution under K.S.A. 58a-804;
• keep records and trust property separate from the Trustee's own property; and
• provide notices, information, and reports required by K.S.A. 58a-813.

The annual-report direction in this Will does not reduce any mandatory duty. At minimum, the Trustee shall send the reports required by K.S.A. 58a-813, including annual reports to qualified beneficiaries who received a distribution during the fiscal year and to additional eligible qualified beneficiaries who request a report.

5.2 Powers

Subject to fiduciary duties and this Will, the Trustee may exercise the powers in K.S.A. 58a-815 and 58a-816, including power to acquire, retain, sell, exchange, lease, insure, invest, borrow, settle claims, employ professionals, make tax elections, divide or combine shares, and distribute property in cash or in kind.

5.3 Compensation and Reimbursement

The Trustee is entitled to reasonable compensation under K.S.A. 58a-708 and reimbursement from trust property for properly incurred administration expenses under K.S.A. 58a-709.

5.4 Resignation, Vacancy, and Removal

A Trustee may resign as Kansas law permits. A qualified beneficiary may request judicial removal, and the court may remove a Trustee only on grounds and findings authorized by K.S.A. 58a-706. This Will does not create an automatic beneficiary-removal power.

5.5 Liability and Exculpation

No provision of this Will relieves a Trustee from liability for a breach committed in bad faith or with reckless indifference to the trust's purposes or the Beneficiaries' interests. Any exculpatory term is limited by K.S.A. 58a-1008.

K.S.A. 58a-1010 governs personal liability on fiduciary contracts, torts, and obligations arising from trust property. This Will does not impose a blanket liability cap based on the value of the trust estate.

The Trustee may purchase fiduciary-liability insurance as permitted by K.S.A. 58a-816(11).

5.6 Remedies

For a breach of trust, a court may grant the remedies authorized by K.S.A. 58a-1001, including compelling performance or an accounting, enjoining a breach, ordering restoration, suspending or removing the Trustee, reducing compensation, and granting other appropriate relief. No private notice-and-cure period in this Will delays access to those remedies.

ARTICLE VI — DIGITAL ASSETS

Subject to any controlling online-tool direction, I affirmatively consent to disclosure to my Personal Representative and Trustee of my digital assets, including the content of electronic communications, to the fullest extent permitted by K.S.A. 58-4804.

My fiduciaries may request disclosure and administer or terminate accounts under K.S.A. 58-4807, 58-4808, and 58-4815. Their authority remains subject to applicable law, terms of service, copyright restrictions, fiduciary duties, and any direction I make through an online tool that controls under K.S.A. 58-4804.

Digital-asset inventory location: [SECURE LOCATION; DO NOT PLACE PASSWORDS IN THIS WILL]

ARTICLE VII — MINOR CHILDREN

If a guardian is needed for a minor child of mine, I nominate [PRIMARY GUARDIAN]. If that person does not serve, I nominate [SUCCESSOR GUARDIAN]. The court retains authority over any appointment.

ARTICLE VIII — SURVIVAL, SEVERABILITY, AND GOVERNING LAW

A person must survive me by [30] days to take under this Will unless a provision states otherwise.

If a provision is unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue to the extent permitted by law. A court may apply Kansas trust-law remedies, including reformation where legally available, but this clause does not authorize rewriting that defeats a mandatory rule.

Kansas law governs this Will and the testamentary trust, subject to any law that must apply to property or administration elsewhere.

ARTICLE IX — SIGNATURE AND ATTESTATION

I sign this Will at the end and declare it to be my Last Will and Testament.

Date: [__/__/____]

________________________________________
[TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], Testator

We, the undersigned competent witnesses, attest and subscribe this Will in the Testator's presence. The Testator signed at the end in our presence or acknowledged the Will to us, and requested that we sign as witnesses.

SELF-PROVING AFFIDAVIT — K.S.A. 59-606

STATE OF [STATE]
COUNTY OF [COUNTY], ss.

Before me personally appeared [TESTATOR], [WITNESS 1], and [WITNESS 2], known to me or satisfactorily identified as the Testator and witnesses whose names are subscribed to this Will. All were first duly sworn.

The Testator declared to me and to the witnesses that this instrument is the Testator's Last Will and Testament and that the Testator willingly executed it as a free and voluntary act for the purposes expressed.

Each witness stated under oath, in the Testator's presence and hearing, that the Testator declared the instrument to be the Testator's Last Will and Testament, executed or acknowledged it, and requested each witness to sign. Each witness further stated that the witnesses signed in the presence of each other and the Testator, and that the Testator possessed the rights of majority, was of sound mind, and was under no restraint.

________________________________________
[TESTATOR], Testator

________________________________________
[WITNESS 1], Witness

________________________________________
[WITNESS 2], Witness

Subscribed, acknowledged, and sworn before me on [__/__/____].

________________________________________
[NOTARIAL OFFICER]
Official capacity: [CAPACITY]
My appointment expires: [DATE]
[SEAL]

ATTORNEY REVIEW CHECKLIST

☐ Confirm family status, descendants, and survival periods.
☐ Coordinate beneficiary designations and jointly owned or transfer-on-death property.
☐ Review surviving-spouse elective-share and homestead rights.
☐ Confirm tax apportionment and estate, gift, generation-skipping, and income-tax objectives.
☐ Confirm trust shares, distribution standards, ages, and contingent beneficiaries.
☐ Confirm fiduciary eligibility, bond, compensation, succession, and conflicts.
☐ Confirm digital-asset consent and any online-tool directions.
☐ Conduct the K.S.A. 59-606 signing and self-proving ceremony without later insertions.

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes, K.S.A. Chapter 59
• Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes, K.S.A. Chapter 58a
• Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes, K.S.A. Chapter 58, Article 48