59-806. Same; proceedings, procedures and substantive rights relating to property, laws applicable; matters not affected; descent of property; support and family allowances; distribution; proportionat
59-806
59-806. Same; proceedings, procedures and substantive rights relatingto property, laws applicable; matters not affected; descent of property;support and family allowances; distribution; proportionate distribution.The law of this state respecting proceedings, procedures and substantiverights relating in any way to the property in this state of a nonresidentdecedent and its disposition, including by way of illustration, but notlimited to, all matters relating to (i) the commencement and conduct of anadministration, (ii) distributions during or at the conclusion of anadministration, (iii) any trust created under the will of a nonresidentdecedent, shall apply as if the decedent had been a resident of this state,subject to the following: (a) Nothing in this act shall be deemed toaffect:
(1) Methods of proving foreign wills or the admissibility of such willsto probate or to record. Authenticated copies of wills, proved outside ofthis state according to the laws in force in the place where proved,relative to any property in this state, may be admitted to probate andrecord in the district court of any county in this state where any part ofsuch property may be situated; such authenticated copies so admitted andrecorded shall have the same validity as wills proved in this state inconformity with the laws thereof; and upon such admission to probate thecourt shall determine whether administration in this state is necessary;
(2) The rights of a surviving spouse electing to accept or take againstthe will of a nonresident decedent, or the method of such election;
(3) The effect of divorce or the birth of a child as working or notworking a revocation or partial revocation of the will of a nonresident;
(4) The effect of the contest in another jurisdiction of the will of anonresident decedent upon its validity in Kansas;
(5) The applicability of any law in determining the validity of theexecution of the will of a nonresident decedent;
(6) The determination of the ultimate burden of estate or inheritancetaxes imposed by reason of the death of a nonresident decedent.
(b) Real estate situated in this state, owned by an intestate decedentwho is a nonresident of this state at the time of death, shall pass byintestate succession in the same manner as though said decedent were a resident ofthis state at the time of said decedent's death. The personal property of such adecedent shall pass by intestate succession under the laws of the place ofthe decedent's residence at the time of death. Real property of a testatenonresident decedent may be devised and such decedent's personal property may bebequeathed by such decedent's last will if duly executed according to the laws of thisstate or of the state in which it was executed, or the state of testator's residence.
(c) Support and family allowances to surviving spouses and unmarriedminor children are governed by the more liberal (to them) of the laws ofthe decedent's domicile and the laws of this state, but the court of thisstate in making such allowance and in ruling on applications for orders ofrefusal of letters of administration shall take into account any allowanceswhich may be made in other jurisdictions and satisfied from propertytherein.
(d) Notwithstanding the requirement of this section that distributionduring or at the conclusion of an administration shall be made as if thedecedent were a resident, if the court finds that hardship to a creditorwould result therefrom or that the best interests of all persons having aninterest in the estate would be forwarded by making a distribution to aforeign personal representative, or that administration is not necessary inthis state, the court may, in its discretion, order distribution to theextent it finds necessary to avoid hardship to creditors or to forward thebest interest of all persons having an interest in the estate, or it mayorder that administration is not necessary in this state, in which event,the court may order distribution of the personal property of the decedentto a foreign personal representative and the real property of such decedentshall be assigned according to the terms of the will applicable thereto, orif the terms of the will are not applicable thereto, or if there is nowill, such real property shall pass according to the laws of this state.
(e) If the aggregate of liabilities of the estate in all jurisdictionsexceeds its aggregate assets, the court shall order distribution, as far aspracticable, so that all the creditors of decedent's estate, here andelsewhere, may receive a share in proportion to their respectiveobligations, with regard being given to any preferential rights determinedby the court. To this end, distribution to a foreign personalrepresentative may be ordered if all creditors whose claims have beenallowed in the administration in this state shall have received their justproportions that would be due to them if the whole of the estate of thedecedent, wherever found, were divided among all creditors in proportion totheir respective obligations, after applying Kansas law respectingpreferences to different species of obligations, and if and to the extentthat the court finds such preference to be equitable under all thecircumstances of the particular case.
History: L. 1967, ch. 314, § 3; L. 1968, ch. 48, § 1; L. 1976,ch. 242, § 9; Jan. 10, 1977.