Inheriting Real Property in Kansas When One Owner Kills Another Owner
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 slayer statute, Kansas does not have a slayer statute. However, the Kansas Probate Code, K.S.A. 59-513, provides that no person convicted of feloniously killing another person shall inherit by intestate succession or take by will, as a surviving joint tenant, any portion of the estate of the decedent. K.S.A. 59-513 seems to instruct that if you murder your spouse or a sibling, you will not inherit any assets of your victim. However, in regards to jointly titled real property, the Kansas Court of Appeals in In re Estate of Shields (later affirmed by the Kansas Supreme Court) held that when a joint tenant kills another joint tenant, the joint tenancy is severed and the two owners now have divisible tenancy in common ownership interest rights. Meaning, when Spouse 1 killed Spouse 2, their real property purchased as joint tenants with right of survivorship was severed and Spouse 1 owned 50% of the residence and Spouse 2 owned 50% of the residence. Spouse 2’s estate was later probated and pursuant to K.S.A. 59-513 and K.S.A. 59-506, the 3 children of Spouse 1 and Spouse 2 were the only heirs at law of deceased Spouse 2. Pursuant to K.S.A. 59-506, each of the children inherited a 1/3rd interest in the residence from Spouse 2 and Spouse 1 retained a 50% ownership interest in the residence, all 4 individuals now owning their interests in the residence as tenants in common.
