How many witnesses does a will need in Kansas?

A will in Kansas must be signed in front of two witnesses. The witnesses do not need to be present together when they sign, but each must witness the testator's signature or acknowledgment. See Kan. Stat. §59-601 et seq..

Does a will have to be notarized in Kansas?

No. Notarization is not required for a Kansas will to be valid, but adding a self-proving affidavit (which is notarized) lets the will be admitted to probate without calling the witnesses to testify.

Is a handwritten will valid in Kansas?

No. Kansas does not recognize holographic wills. Every will must be signed in front of witnesses to be valid.

What is the minimum age to make a will in Kansas?

You must be at least 18 years old to make a will in Kansas.

Can I sign my will online in Kansas?

No. Kansas does not currently recognize electronic wills. A will must be signed and witnessed in person on paper to be valid; remote online notarization is allowed for other documents like trusts and powers of attorney.

What documents make up a complete estate plan in Kansas?

A complete estate plan in Kansas usually includes four documents: a Last Will and Testament, a Revocable Living Trust, a Durable Power of Attorney, and a Healthcare Directive. Will.com generates all four together based on your answers.

Estate plan requirements

Kansas

Everything your estate plan needs to be valid in Kansas: execution requirements, the documents we generate, statutory citations, and the exact wording our generators insert.

Requirements at a glance

Document	Witnesses	Notary
Will	2 required	Recommended
Living trust	None required	Recommended
Power of attorney	None required	Required
Healthcare directive	2 required, or notary	Alternative to witnesses

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Kansas content last reviewed May 18, 2026.

Will

Kan. Stat. §59-601 et seq.

Witnesses: 2 required

Two or more competent witnesses must attest and subscribe the will in the presence of the testator, and each witness must have either seen the testator sign the will or heard the testator acknowledge it

Notarization: Recommended

Not legally required, but recommended for self-proving affidavit

Holographic will: Not valid

Kansas does not recognize handwritten wills without witnesses

Self-proving affidavit: Available

Allows the will to be admitted to probate without witness testimony

ViewWitness disqualification / interested-witness rule

Kan. Stat. §59-604: a beneficial devise or bequest to a subscribing witness is void unless there are two other competent subscribing witnesses who are not beneficiaries under the will. A witness who would have inherited had there been no will keeps that intestate share up to the value of the voided gift. The will itself remains valid. Practical effect on a two-witness Kansas will: there are never two other disinterested witnesses in addition to an interested one, so a gift to a witness is void except to the extent of the witness's intestate share.

Living Trust

Witnesses: None required

No formal execution requirements beyond settlor signature; notarization strongly recommended when funding real property

Notarization: Recommended

Not legally required for the trust document, but needed to transfer real property

Durable Power of Attorney

Witnesses: None required

No witnesses required for power of attorney

Notarization: Required

Notarization is required for a valid durable power of attorney

State-specific notes

•Signed by the principal, and dated and acknowledged in the manner prescribed by the revised uniform law on notarial acts (Kan. Stat. §58-652(a)(3)). If the principal is physically unable to sign but is otherwise competent and conscious, an adult designee may sign the principal's name in the presence of the principal and at the principal's specific direction expressed in the presence of a notary public, after which the document is acknowledged under the revised uniform law on notarial acts with the same effect as if the principal had signed.

•Durability is NOT presumed. The document must be denominated a 'durable power of attorney' and contain one of the statutory durability statements (K.S.A. §58-652(a), statements at §58-652(a)(2)): (A) 'This is a durable power of attorney and the authority of my attorney in fact shall not terminate if I become disabled or in the event of later uncertainty as to whether I am dead or alive,' or (B) 'this is a durable power of attorney and the authority of my attorney in fact, when effective, shall not terminate or be void or voidable if I am or become disabled or in the event of later uncertainty as to whether I am dead or alive.'

•A POA executed on or after July 1, 2021 is deemed sufficient if in substantial compliance with the form set forth by the Kansas Judicial Council. K.S.A. §58-652(f).

Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions (statutory form at K.S.A. §58-632); the Living Will / Natural Death Act declaration form is set out in K.S.A. §65-28,103

Kan. Stat. §58-625 et seq. (DPOA-HC); K.S.A. §65-28,101 et seq. (Natural Death Act / Living Will)

Witnesses: 2 required, or notary

Kansas accepts either 2 witnesses or notarization

Notarization: Accepted as alternative

Both the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care (K.S.A. §58-629(e)) and the Living Will / Natural Death Act declaration (K.S.A. §65-28,103(a)(4)) provide a disjunctive execution rule: the document may be signed in the presence of two qualifying adult witnesses OR acknowledged before a notary public. The notary block below is therefore an alternative to (not a supplement to) witness attestation. The DPOA-HC statutory form is set out by statute (K.S.A. §58-632).

State-specific notes

•Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care witnesses: two witnesses at least 18 years of age, none of whom is the agent, related to the principal by blood, marriage or adoption, entitled to any portion of the principal's estate by intestate succession or under any will or codicil of the principal, or directly financially responsible for the principal's health care (K.S.A. §58-629(e)(1)).

•Living Will / Natural Death Act declaration witnesses: two or more witnesses at least 18 years of age, none of whom is the person who signed the declaration on behalf of and at the direction of the declarant, related to the declarant by blood or marriage, entitled to any portion of the declarant's estate by intestate succession or under any will or codicil, or directly financially responsible for the declarant's medical care (K.S.A. §65-28,103(a)(4)(A)). Adoption is not a disqualifier for this document. Using two witnesses who satisfy both lists at once satisfies each instrument.

•Neither the treating health care provider, nor an employee of the treating health care provider, nor an employee, owner, director or officer of a hospital, psychiatric hospital or psychiatric treatment facility, hospice, nursing home or similar institution may be designated as the agent (K.S.A. §58-629(d), reading the facility class from subsection (a)(2) of that section). 'Health care provider' is defined broadly and reaches licensed nurses, physician assistants, therapists, pharmacists and the facility itself, not only physicians (K.S.A. §65-4921(c)). Two exceptions apply: the person is related to the principal by blood, marriage or adoption, or the principal and agent are members of the same community of persons bound by vows to a religious life who conduct or assist in religious services and regularly engage in religious, benevolent, charitable or educational ministrations or health care services.

ViewWitness disqualification recital

This directive combines a durable power of attorney for health care decisions under K.S.A. §58-629 with a Kansas Natural Death Act declaration under K.S.A. §65-28,103, and each imposes its own witness rule. Under §58-629(e)(1) neither of the two witnesses may be the agent, related to the principal by blood, marriage, or adoption, entitled to any portion of the principal's estate under the laws of intestate succession or under any will or codicil, or directly financially responsible for the principal's health care. Under §65-28,103(a)(4)(A) neither witness may be the person who signed the declaration on behalf of and at the direction of the declarant, related to the declarant by blood or marriage, entitled to any portion of the declarant's estate by intestate succession or under any will or codicil, or directly financially responsible for the declarant's medical care. Witnesses must be at least 18 under both. Kansas does not disqualify a treating health care provider or its employee from witnessing: the §58-629(d) bar on the treating provider, an employee of the treating provider, and an employee, owner, director, or officer of a facility described in §58-629(a)(2) restricts who may be designated as agent, not who may witness. Acknowledgment before a notary public is a statutory alternative to witnesses for both portions, under §58-629(e)(2) and §65-28,103(a)(4)(B).

Subscription

6 more documents with a subscription

$29/year unlocks the documents below alongside the four free ones above. Your answers and documents are saved privately to your account, encrypted in your browser, so you can revise them any time life changes.

Disposition of Remains Authorization

Names the agent who controls funeral, burial, or cremation decisions, with optional preferences.

HIPAA Authorization

Stand-alone PHI release that survives death for the period you specify, separate from the in-life authorization in your healthcare directive.

Designation of Guardian and Conservator

Pre-designates the person you want a court to appoint as Guardian of the Person and Conservator of the Estate under the Kansas Act for Obtaining a Guardian or a Conservator (K.S.A. 59-3050 et seq.) if protective proceedings are ever needed. Kansas uses 'Guardian' for the person role and 'Conservator' for the estate role.

Business Succession Declaration

Identifies your interests in any closely-held businesses and how they should be transferred or wound down.

Real-Estate Retitling Checklist

Step-by-step instructions for transferring real-property deeds into your trust so the trust actually controls those assets.

Letter of Instruction

Non-binding personal note to your executor and family: where to find documents, account access, funeral wishes, and other practical guidance.

Free vs. paid

	Free	Paid
All 4 state-specific documents	Included in free	Included in paid tier
State-specific signing guide	Included in free	Included in paid tier
Download as PDF, print forever	Included in free	Included in paid tier
Secure online storage	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Covers real estate, business, digital, and funeral wishes	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Disposition of remains authorization	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Standalone HIPAA authorization	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Nomination of conservator	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Business succession declaration	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Real-estate retitling checklist	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Special needs trust provisions	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Letter of instruction, pre-filled and editable	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Edit anytime	Not in free	Included in paid tier
Annual review reminder	Not in free	Included in paid tier

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Electronic will status

Kansas has not adopted electronic will legislation. A traditional paper will with physical signatures is required.

Digital assets access

Kansas has adopted RUFADAA (2017). This is the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, which lets your executor, trustee, or agent access your email, social media, cryptocurrency wallets, cloud storage, and other digital accounts after death or incapacity.

To take advantage of RUFADAA, your will, trust, or power of attorney must explicitly grant authority to access digital assets. Without explicit authorization, service providers can deny access even to a court-appointed executor.

Remote online notarization (RON)

Kansas authorized RON in 2022.

Will

Not allowed

Trust

Allowed

POA

Allowed

Remote online witnessing (ROW)

Kansas does not allow remote online witnessing for estate planning documents. Witnesses must be physically present when you sign.

Will

Not allowed

Trust

Not allowed

POA

Not allowed

HC Directive

Not allowed

This information is general in nature and not legal advice. Laws change. Consult a licensed estate planning attorney in Kansas for guidance specific to your situation.

Also for Kansas

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Free last will and testament, valid in Kansas.

Kansas healthcare directive

Name your medical decision-maker and treatment wishes.

Kansas power of attorney

Name someone to handle finances if you can't.

Kansas living trust

Skip probate and keep your estate private.

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