Why Do I Need a Will? Essential Reasons Explained

What a will accomplishes, what it doesn’t, and the specific reasons most Kansas adults benefit from having one in place.

A will is the most basic estate planning document, and also one of the most misunderstood. Some people assume a will avoids probate (it doesn’t). Some assume a will covers everything you own (it doesn’t). Some assume they don’t need a will because their family will “just work it out” (which usually means months of probate court and family disagreements). The honest version of why you need a will involves understanding what the document actually does, what it doesn’t, and what’s at stake without it.

For Kansas adults with any combination of children, property, or specific wishes about who inherits what, a will is essential. It’s the document that nominates guardians for minor children, names an executor to handle your estate, and directs distribution of assets that don’t pass by other means. Without it, Kansas intestate succession law takes over and applies default rules that often don’t match what families would have wanted.

After 27 years and 5,423 trusts drafted at The Eastman Law Firm serving Overland Park, Lenexa, and Olathe, we’ve helped Kansas families think through whether a basic will fits their situation or whether more comprehensive planning would serve them better. Here’s how to tell.

What a Will Actually Does

A Last Will and Testament (the formal name) accomplishes several specific things, none of which happen automatically without the document:

Names an executor. The executor (also called a “personal representative” in some Kansas contexts) is the person legally responsible for handling your estate after death. They file the will with the probate court, inventory your assets, pay your debts and final expenses, file required tax returns, and distribute remaining assets to the beneficiaries you named. Without a will naming an executor, the court appoints someone, usually a family member, but possibly not the person you’d have chosen.

Directs asset distribution. The will specifies who inherits what. You can leave specific gifts to specific people (a house to a child, jewelry to a grandchild, charitable bequests to organizations) or direct general distribution (everything to your spouse, then your children equally if your spouse predeceases you).

Nominates guardians for minor children. This is often the most important function for parents of young children. The will identifies who you want to raise your children if both parents are gone. The court generally honors the nomination if the person is fit and willing to serve.

Creates testamentary trusts if needed. A will can create simple trusts that take effect at death, such as trusts for minor children, trusts for beneficiaries who shouldn’t receive lump sums, or supplemental needs trusts for beneficiaries with disabilities. These trusts come into existence through probate rather than during your lifetime.

Directs final arrangements. Wills can include directions about funeral, burial, or cremation preferences, though these are often coordinated with separate documents and verbal communications with family.

What a Will Doesn’t Do

Equally important to understanding why you need a will is understanding what it doesn’t accomplish on its own:

A will doesn’t avoid probate. Wills are filed with the probate court and assets pass through court supervision before reaching beneficiaries. Probate in Kansas typically takes 6 to 12 months for simple estates, costs money in fees, and is public record. To avoid probate, you need a trust-based plan or other transfer mechanisms.

A will doesn’t control assets that pass by other means. Beneficiary-designated accounts (retirement accounts, life insurance, payable-on-death bank accounts), joint tenancy property, transfer-on-death deeds, and trust-titled assets all pass according to their own rules, not under the will.

A will doesn’t take effect during your lifetime. If you become incapacitated but still living, the will doesn’t help. Powers of attorney handle that scenario, not the will.

A will doesn’t provide privacy. Once filed with the probate court, the will becomes public record. Anyone can read what you owned, who inherited what, and the family details that ended up on file.

A will doesn’t protect inherited assets from beneficiaries’ problems. Outright distributions to beneficiaries become their property, subject to their creditors, divorces, and financial decisions. To control how beneficiaries inherit, you typically need a trust.

The Specific Reasons to Have a Will

For most Kansas adults, several specific reasons make having a will valuable:

Direct asset distribution. Without a will, Kansas intestate succession law applies. The default rules may not match what you’d have chosen. For broader detail on what intestate succession produces, see our explanation of what happens without a will in Kansas.

Name guardians for minor children. The single most important reason for parents to have a will. Guardianship can only be nominated through a will under Kansas law.

Choose your executor. The executor handles significant responsibility during a difficult time. Choosing the right person matters more than people often realize.

Make specific bequests. Family heirlooms, charitable gifts, or specific items you want going to specific people are only effective through a will or coordinated estate plan.

Direct unequal distributions. If you want to leave different amounts to different children, exclude a family member, or favor a specific beneficiary, the will is what makes those decisions effective.

Coordinate with other estate planning tools. For families using trusts, the pour-over will catches anything not transferred to the trust and directs it to the trust. The will is part of the overall plan, not a competing tool.

Provide for non-family beneficiaries. Friends, partners not legally married to you, godchildren, or anyone outside the legal family inheritance order receives nothing under Kansas intestate succession. A will is how you direct anything to them.

Kansas Requirements for a Valid Will

For a will to be legally valid in Kansas, it has to meet specific statutory requirements under K.S.A. 59-601 through 59-617:

• The testator (the person making the will) must be at least 18 years old and of sound mind
• The will must be in writing (electronic wills are recognized in Kansas under K.S.A. 59-617a as of 2024, with specific requirements for digital execution)
• The testator must sign the will (or direct someone else to sign for them in their presence)
• The will must be witnessed by two competent witnesses present at the same time
• The witnesses must sign the will in the testator’s presence

Kansas also recognizes “self-proved” wills under K.S.A. 59-606, which include a notarized affidavit from the witnesses. A self-proved will streamlines probate because the witnesses don’t have to be located and brought to court to testify about the signing.

Holographic wills (entirely in the testator’s handwriting, without witnesses) are not generally valid in Kansas. Oral wills are recognized only in very limited circumstances and are rarely used.

Wills vs. Other Estate Planning Tools

Understanding when a will is the right tool means understanding how it compares to alternatives:

Will vs. Trust. A trust avoids probate, provides privacy, handles incapacity, and allows beneficiary control. A will alone does none of these things. For Kansas families with real estate, significant assets, or specific control concerns, a trust-based plan often serves better. For families without those features, a will may be sufficient.

Will vs. Beneficiary Designations. Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance bypass the will entirely. Coordinating designations with the will prevents mismatches. A will that leaves “everything to spouse” doesn’t change a 401(k) still designating an ex-spouse from a prior marriage.

Will vs. Joint Tenancy. Joint tenancy property with right of survivorship passes to the surviving joint owner regardless of what the will says. Adding adult children as joint tenants is sometimes done as a quick “estate plan,” but it creates gift tax issues, exposes the asset to the joint owner’s creditors and divorces, and bypasses the will.

When a Will Alone Is Enough

For some Kansas families, a will combined with basic powers of attorney handles all the planning they need. Situations where this minimal approach often works:

• Modest assets without real estate
• Simple family situation (married couple with shared children, or single adult with clear beneficiaries)
• No specific concerns about how beneficiaries would manage inheritances
• No business interests, multi-state property, or specialized planning needs
• Comfort with probate involvement as the asset transfer mechanism

For families in these situations, a will plus powers of attorney plus HIPAA authorization and Living Will covers the essential planning at lower cost than a trust-based plan.

When You Need More Than a Will

Other situations call for planning beyond just a will:

• You own real estate and want to avoid probate
• You have minor children and want to control how and when they inherit
• You have a beneficiary who needs protection (special needs, creditor issues, addiction, financial inexperience)
• You have business interests requiring succession planning
• You’re in a blended family with children from a prior marriage
• You have a large estate approaching federal estate tax exemption thresholds
• You want detailed control over how beneficiaries inherit

For these situations, a will alone leaves significant gaps. Our wills drafting work often happens as part of a coordinated plan that includes a trust, powers of attorney, and coordinated beneficiary designations rather than a standalone will.

What the Free Call Is For

The 15-minute call with Gary sorts out whether a will is the right tool for your situation, whether you need more comprehensive planning, and what the right scope of work would be. Sometimes the answer is yes, a will plus powers of attorney is enough. Sometimes the answer is that a trust-based plan would serve you better. Sometimes the answer is somewhere in between.

By the end of the call, you’ll know more about your situation than you did when you picked up the phone. Whether you hire us or not.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it really necessary to have a will?

For most Kansas adults, yes. The exceptions are rare: someone with effectively no assets, no dependents, no specific wishes about who inherits, and total comfort with Kansas intestate succession applying default rules. For almost everyone else, the question isn’t really whether to have a will. It’s whether a will alone is enough or whether you need additional planning. Parents of minor children especially need wills, because guardianship nominations can only be made through a will. Anyone with specific bequests, anyone in a blended family, anyone with unmarried partners, anyone with charitable goals, anyone who wants control over how their assets are distributed should have a will at minimum.

What determines if a will is valid?

In Kansas, a will is valid if it meets the statutory requirements under K.S.A. 59-601 through 59-617. The testator must be at least 18 and of sound mind at the time of signing. The will must be in writing. The testator must sign it (or direct someone to sign in their presence). Two competent witnesses must be present at the same time, observing the signing, and they must also sign the will in the testator’s presence. Self-proved wills include a notarized affidavit from the witnesses that streamlines probate later. Beyond these formal requirements, the will must reflect the testator’s actual intent and must not have been signed under fraud, duress, or undue influence. Wills that meet the formal requirements but were produced through coercion can still be invalidated by a court.

What makes a will null and void?

Several factors can invalidate a will: failure to meet the statutory formalities (no witnesses, improper signing, testator under 18), lack of testamentary capacity at the time of signing (the testator didn’t understand what they were doing), fraud or forgery, undue influence from someone who manipulated the testator, or revocation by the testator through a later will or physical destruction of the document. Subsequent marriage, divorce, or birth of children can affect specific provisions of an existing will under Kansas statutes, though generally these don’t void the entire will. A will that’s been validly executed but is later found to have been signed under fraud or undue influence can be challenged in a will contest. Will contests are rare and successful contests rarer, but the possibility exists.

How long can you contest a will in Kansas?

In Kansas, a person who wants to contest a will must do so within the timeframes set by the Kansas Probate Code. Generally, an interested party has four months from the date the will is admitted to probate to file a contest (under K.S.A. 59-2236), though specific situations may extend or shorten this window. The grounds for contest typically include lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence, fraud, duress, improper execution, or the existence of a later valid will that revokes the one being probated. Will contests are not common and are difficult to win; courts give significant deference to the testator’s documented intentions. Anyone considering contesting a will should consult an attorney quickly because of the strict deadlines.

Who cannot be a beneficiary of a will?

Kansas law places relatively few restrictions on who can be named as a beneficiary in a will. The basic rule is that anyone or any entity capable of receiving property can be a beneficiary: family members, friends, partners, charities, business entities, trusts. Specific limitations do apply in certain situations: a person who feloniously kills the testator is barred from inheriting under K.S.A. 59-513, the “slayer statute.” A witness to the will can be a beneficiary, but in some situations any bequest to that witness may be reduced or voided to avoid conflicts of interest. Beneficiaries who predecease the testator obviously can’t inherit their share, though the will may direct what happens to that share (often to the predeceased person’s own descendants per stirpes). Animals can’t directly own property under Kansas law, but a pet trust under K.S.A. 58a-408 can be established to provide for the care of pets after the testator’s death. Beyond these specific limitations, who you choose to name as a beneficiary is up to you, with the will being the legal mechanism that makes the choice effective.