Estate Planning After Divorce in Kansas

The day your Kansas divorce decree is signed, half your estate plan breaks — and the other half stays dangerously intact. Kansas law automatically revokes some provisions that name your ex-spouse, but it deliberately leaves others untouched. The gap between what changes automatically and what you must change manually is where ex-spouses accidentally inherit retirement accounts, life insurance payouts, and property that was supposed to go to your children.

What K.S.A. 59-105 Revokes Automatically

Kansas enacted K.S.A. 59-105 to address the most obvious post-divorce problem: a will that still names your ex-spouse as the primary beneficiary. Upon the entry of a divorce decree, the statute automatically revokes:

• Any provision in your will that benefits your former spouse
• Any appointment of your former spouse as personal representative (executor)
• Any appointment of your former spouse as trustee
• Any power of attorney granted to your former spouse

The revocation is immediate and automatic — you do not need to file anything or take any affirmative action for these provisions to become void. Your will is read as if your former spouse predeceased you, meaning alternate beneficiaries or intestacy rules take over.

The ERISA Trap: What the Statute Cannot Touch

Here is where families lose real money. K.S.A. 59-105 applies only to "governing instruments" under Kansas state law — wills, trusts, and powers of attorney. It does not apply to federally regulated accounts governed by ERISA (the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974).

ERISA-governed accounts include:

• Employer-sponsored 401(k) and 403(b) plans
• Group life insurance through your employer
• Pension plans

Federal law requires plan administrators to pay benefits to the named beneficiary on file — period. If your ex-spouse is still listed as the beneficiary on your 401(k) when you die, the plan administrator must pay them, regardless of what your will says, regardless of your divorce decree, and regardless of K.S.A. 59-105.

The Supreme Court confirmed this in Egelhoff v. Egelhoff (2001): ERISA preempts state laws that would automatically change beneficiary designations upon divorce.

Your Post-Divorce Checklist

Update immediately (ERISA accounts):

• Contact your employer's HR department to change the beneficiary on your 401(k), 403(b), and group life insurance
• Update beneficiaries on any pension plan
• Request written confirmation of the changes

Update within 30 days:

• Change beneficiaries on personal life insurance policies (these are governed by state law, so K.S.A. 59-105 may apply, but confirming directly with your insurer eliminates ambiguity)
• Update POD designations on bank accounts
• Update TOD designations on brokerage accounts
• If you have a TOD deed naming your ex-spouse, record a new deed or a formal revocation with the county Register of Deeds

Draft a new will:

• While K.S.A. 59-105 handles the immediate revocation, your will now has gaps where your ex-spouse was named. A new will should name new beneficiaries, a new personal representative, and — if you have minor children — confirm your guardianship nominations.

Review your advance directives:

• K.S.A. 59-105 revokes powers of attorney granted to your former spouse, but you need new documents naming a different healthcare agent and financial agent.

Joint Custody and Guardian Nominations

If you share custody, your children's other parent is typically the presumptive guardian if you die. But if both parents die simultaneously, or if the other parent is unfit, the guardian nomination in your will becomes critical. Update this nomination to reflect your current preferences — the guardian named during your marriage may no longer be appropriate.

Community Property From a Prior State

If you accumulated assets in a community property state (Texas, California, Arizona, etc.) before moving to Kansas, those assets may retain their community property character under the Uniform Disposition of Community Property Rights at Death Act. A divorce in Kansas divides marital property according to Kansas equitable division rules, but the tax basis treatment of formerly community property can differ. If this applies to you, consult a CPA before making estate planning assumptions about step-up in basis.

The Kansas Estate Planning Kit includes a post-divorce estate planning audit that walks through every account type, beneficiary designation, and document that needs updating after a Kansas divorce.

See more Kansas guides →