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Kansas Statutes Annotated

K.S.A. § 20-335 (2026)

Abolishment of certain courts; transfer of records; certain officers of abolished courts to become employees of district court

✓ current as of May 2026
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20-335. Abolishment of certain courts; transfer of records; certain officers of abolished courts to become employees of district court. (a) On January 10, 1977, the following courts of limited jurisdiction shall be and are hereby abolished:

(1) County courts established pursuant to K.S.A. 20-802 or 20-802a;

(2) city courts established pursuant to K.S.A. 20-1424, 20-1424a, 20-1501, 20-1601 or 20-2403;

(3) magistrate courts established pursuant to K.S.A. 20-1801, 20-1901, 20-2501, 20-2521 or 20-2541;

(4) courts of common pleas established pursuant to K.S.A. 1975 Supp. 20-2001;

(5) juvenile courts established pursuant to K.S.A. 38-803; and

(6) probate courts established pursuant to section 8 of article 3 of the Kansas constitution, prior to the revision of such article in 1972.

(b) On January 10, 1977, the judge or judges of each of the courts designated in subsection (a) shall transfer all books, records, papers, files, dockets and documents of such court to the district court of the county in which such court is located, and such books, records, papers, files, dockets and documents shall become the property of said district court. All actions and proceedings commenced in any court designated in subsection (a) prior to January 10, 1977, including all pleadings, motions, orders, judgments and other papers therein, shall become actions and proceedings of the district court of the county in which such court is located. Any judgment of a court designated in subsection (a) shall not become a lien on real property by virtue of the transfer of documents pursuant to this subsection unless the court rendering such judgment was a court of record immediately prior to January 10, 1977. Nothing herein shall preclude a party in whose favor a judgment is rendered by a court designated in subsection (a) from filing a transcript of such judgment with the clerk of the district court in the manner provided in K.S.A. 60-2202, and amendments thereto, and in such event such judgment shall become a lien on real property as provided in K.S.A. 60-2202, and amendments thereto.

(c) Any person who was elected at the general election of 1974 for a four-year term of office as an officer, other than a judge, of a court specified in subsection (a), which office is abolished by this act on January 10, 1977, shall become an employee of the district court and shall have such duties as may be prescribed by the chief judge thereof and shall receive compensation which is not less than that prescribed for such office until January 10, 1979.

History: L. 1976, ch. 146, § 15; L. 1999, ch. 57, § 18; July 1.

CASE ANNOTATIONS

1. Cited; appeal properly taken to district court. In re Estate of Kempkes, 4 Kan. App. 2d 154, 157, 603 P.2d 642.

2. Action for breach of executor's duties must be filed in court where probate proceeding is pending. Quinlan v. Leech, 5 Kan. App. 2d 706, 709, 623 P.2d 1365.


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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1979–2023 · leading case: In Re the Est. of Heiman, 241 P.3d 161 (Kan. Ct. App. 2010).
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In Re the Est. of Heiman, 241 P.3d 161 (Kan. Ct. App. 2010). “At the trial level, various courts with specialized jurisdictions were ehminated and their functions were transferred to district judges. The district courts became courts of general jurisdiction.”
Quinlan v. Leech, 623 P.2d 1365 (Kan. Ct. App. 1981). · cites it 2× “K.S.A. 1980 Supp. 20-335. Such a transfer was completed in this case.”
In Re the Adoption of Chance, 609 P.2d 232 (Kan. Ct. App. 1980). “Since January 10, 1977, probate courts as they previously existed have been abolished and all matters then pending or thereafter commenced, which by their nature were deemed “in probate,” are actions and proceedings in the district court of the county in which such court is…”
In Re the Est. of Kempkes, 603 P.2d 642 (Kan. Ct. App. 1979). ““(a) On January 10, 1977, the following courts of limited jurisdiction shall be and are hereby abolished: “(6) probate courts established pursuant to section 8 of article 3 of the Kansas constitution, prior to the revision of said article in 1972.”
In re Est. of Raney, 525 P.3d 1 (Kan. Ct. App. 2023). “And it indicated that district courts "shall have general original jurisdiction" to hear all matters unless otherwise provided.”
— K.S.A. § 20-335(o)(6) — 1 case
In Re the Est. of Kempkes, 603 P.2d 642 (Kan. Ct. App. 1979). ““(a) On January 10, 1977, the following courts of limited jurisdiction shall be and are hereby abolished: “(6) probate courts established pursuant to section 8 of article 3 of the Kansas constitution, prior to the revision of said article in 1972.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.