SESSION OF 2023
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2018
As Recommended by House Committee on
Judiciary

Brief*
HB 2018 would modify law governing filing and
preserving of wills to allow a copy of a decedent’s will to be
filed and admitted to probate and allow a will or a copy of a
will filed within six months of the testator’s death to be
probated at any time, subject to any other applicable legal
defenses to such admission.
An affidavit must be filed as part of this procedure. The
bill would require such affidavit filed on or after July 1, 2023,
to state whether the original will or a copy of the will is being
filed with the court.
[Note: Currently, the statute does not allow for copy of a
will to be filed and provides that a will may be probated after a
six-month period from the testator’s death.]

Background
The bill was introduced by the House Committee on
Judiciary at the request of a representative of the Kansas Bar
Association (KBA).

House Committee on Judiciary
In the House Committee hearing on January 17, 2023, a
representative of the KBA testified as a proponent of the bill,
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org
stating the bill would allow a copy of a will to be preserved for
probate in cases when the original will is lost. No other
testimony was provided.

Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill, the Office of Judicial Administration
indicates that enactment of the bill could have a fiscal effect
on the Judicial Branch because the bill would allow a copy of
a will to be filed, which could result in more time spent by
court employees and judges processing and deciding cases.
However, a precise fiscal effect could not be determined. Any
fiscal effect associated with the bill is not reflected in The FY
2024 Governor’s Budget Report.
Wills; probate; affidavit; filing of copy of will


2- 2018


Statutes affected:
As introduced: 59-618a