Kansas Marital Property Law and Real Estate Law

“Marital property” is the legal term that refers to all of the possessions and interests acquired after a couple gets married.

While a few states have enacted laws that consider all marital property as “community property,” which is equally owned by both parties and must be equally divided after a divorce. Kansas, however, has no community property law. This allows for courts and the parties to be more flexible (and also more unpredictable) when dividing marital property during a divorce.

I. Marital Property Laws in Kansas

Code Section

Kansas Statutes 23-2801: Martial Property

Kansas Statutes 23-2802: Division of Property

Community Property Recognized?

Dower And Curtesy

Dower and curtesy abolished

Kansas Statutes 59-505: Half of the Realty to

Surviving Spouse

Marital Property and Separate Property

As noted above, the majority of the property you buy or receive while married becomes marital property. In the case of a divorce, marital property is considered jointly owned by both spouses and will get jointly divided, normally as close as possible to an even split. There are a few exceptions to the marital property rule for things like inheritance, gifts, and in some cases 401Ks, which are considered separate property. Separate property is the property that you owned before the marriage and is normally not subject to division.

Because there are no state community property laws, Kansas courts will determine a “fair” property division between divorcing parties. For the most part, courts consider each party getting about half of the jointly owned property as fair. That said, a court could decide that an unequal property split is fair, which could happen if one spouse alleges some fault on the part of the other spouse. If both spouses are able to create their own agreement regarding property division, courts will generally accept their agreement.

**Kansas is an equitable distribution state, and assets acquired both during and prior to the marriage can be subject to equitable division by Judicial Order.**

Unequal income or other offsetting factors may support an unequal distribution of assets.

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30

KC Kansas City Real Estate Law Firm, KS Firms, Lawyer, Lawyers, Legal Advice, FSBO, Contracts, Deeds, Promissary Notes, Brokerage Services, and Flat Fee Legal Protection24/7 booking

Live Video Consults

Set a date, Get a call

Real Estate Contracts

Brokerage Services

FSBO, Deeds, Notes

Non-Performing Real Estate & Notes