On May 20, 2025, the US Senate passed 100-0 the No Tax on Tips Act. The bill establishes a tax deduction against tip income up to $25,000. The tax deduction includes requirements and limitations. The deduction applies to cash tips received during the employee’s course of employment in a job that customarily receives tips. The Act requires the employee to report the cash tips to the employer for purposes of payroll taxes. What are...

Recently, I filed a petition for a Kansas determination of descent for a client living in Oregon. She is the sole heir at law of a decedent who owned tracts of land in Barton County. After the court entered the decree of descent, I recorded the decree to establish legal title in the real estate. My client moved to Great Bend and is living in real property she inherited from her father’s estate. A client in Oregon needed a Kansas...

During legislative sessions in 2024 and 2025, the Kansas legislature enacted amendments to the Kansas Care and Treatment statutes. Additionally, the Kansas legislature significantly amended the Kansas Guardianship and Conservatorship statutes. The changes to the guardianship code take effect January 1, 2026. However, the Kansas Probate Code related to decedent’s estates remains unchanged. The statutory requirements for a Kansas Small...

In the past year, I have assisted clients in probating estates and filing determinations of descent in the district courts for Johnson County, Wyandotte County, Leavenworth County, Hodgman County, Franklin County, Ellsworth County, Edwards County, Sumner County, Douglas County, Reno County, Shawnee County, Sedgwick County and Saline County. I am in my 25th year of assisting Kansans with their probate estate...

It was my pleasure to assist an 83 year old client with a birth certificate error that prevented her from obtaining a US Passport. Client was born in 1940 in Ness City. Birth certificates were filled out in hand. The handwritten DOB appeared to be 1946 based on the way the scrivner drew his or her 0. Her DL from an upper-Midwest state has her DOB correctly reported as 1940. Due to the length of time since birth, she could not produce the...

Facts are that Spouse 1 and Spouse 2 purchased real estate together as joint tenants with right of survivorship. Normally, when 2 people own real estate (or any other asset) as joint tenants, when 1 owner dies, the surviving owner becomes the sole owner of the property or asset by virtue of surviving the deceased owner. However, in this fact pattern, Spouse1 killed Spouse 2 and later was convicted of the murder. Unlike Missouri, which has a...