Plan now while you can. Missouri estate planning starts with the will, the trust, and the durable power of attorney.
Missouri probate is judicial, time-consuming, and public record. A well-drafted Missouri revocable living trust, pour-over will, durable financial power of attorney, healthcare directive, and HIPAA release can keep your family out of Jackson County or Clay County probate court. These ten Kansas City estate planning firms are recognized by Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers, Avvo, and peer rankings for trusts, wills, probate, and elder law work.
These ten Kansas City estate planning firms were selected based on Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers recognition, Missouri Bar peer rankings, published Avvo and Justia ratings, and Yelp's 2026 Kansas City estate planning roundup. We do not accept payment for placement.
How we picked these 10: We do not accept payment for placement, and we do not write sponsored reviews. More on our methodology → | How to compare firms →
Practice focus: Wills, revocable trusts, probate avoidance, elder law
Kansas City estate planning firm focused on guiding individuals and families through wills, trusts, and probate avoidance with a personal, education-first intake.
Strong fit when you want a senior attorney to walk you through the plan in plain English and a flat-fee quote up front.
Practice focus: Asset protection, estate planning, elder law, small business
Asset protection and estate planning firm with a reputation as a lawyer's lawyer for higher-net-worth Kansas City families.
Strong fit when the case involves Medicaid planning, asset protection, or small-business succession layered on the estate plan.
Practice focus: Estate planning, probate, real-estate-linked estate work
Kansas City boutique led by Kristi Hartmann (Super Lawyers Rising Stars) covering estate planning, probate, and real-estate-linked transfer work.
Strong fit when the estate includes Kansas City real estate or beneficiary-deed planning.
Practice focus: Tax, trusts, estates, business succession
Kansas City-headquartered AmLaw 200 firm; Tax, Trusts and Estates group handles sophisticated wealth-transfer and business-succession plans.
Strong fit when the estate involves closely-held business interests, complex tax planning, or generational wealth transfer.
Practice focus: Trusts, estates, tax, private wealth
Kansas City-anchored AmLaw 100 firm with a private-wealth and trusts-and-estates group recognized by Super Lawyers.
Strong fit for high-net-worth families, multi-state estates, or planning that involves charitable structures and family offices.
Practice focus: Private client services, trusts, estates
Kansas City-rooted AmLaw 200 firm with a Private Client Services group covering trusts, estates, and high-net-worth tax planning.
Strong fit when the estate spans business interests, real estate holdings, and trusts across multiple states.
Practice focus: Estate planning, elder law, probate
Kansas City estate planning and elder law boutique focused on aging-and-incapacity planning and Medicaid eligibility.
Strong fit when the planning has to anticipate long-term care, Medicaid eligibility, or guardianship issues.
Practice focus: Estate planning, probate, wills, trusts
Kansas City estate and probate boutique with a flat-fee, education-first model for first-time planners.
Strong fit when you want a transparent flat fee and a straightforward will-plus-trust package.
Practice focus: Estate planning, business succession, probate
Kansas City boutique pairing estate planning with small-business succession and probate administration.
Strong fit when you own a business and want the estate plan and the succession plan handled together.
Practice focus: Estate planning, elder law, probate, special needs trusts
Kansas City estate planning and elder law firm focused on incapacity planning, special-needs trusts, and Medicaid asset protection.
Strong fit when special-needs planning, asset protection from long-term care, or guardianship is part of the plan.
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Fit your situation, not just the practice area. A estate planning firm that mostly handles executive or high-net-worth matters is a different fit from one that mostly handles middle-class or small-business matters. Call the firm and ask: "What does a typical client look like for you? What does a typical case look like?" If the answer is your situation, you are in the right place.
Ask who actually handles the case. Many firms market on the senior partner and route day-to-day work to a junior associate. That is not automatically bad — junior associates can be excellent — but you should know who you are working with. Ask: "Who will I be talking to day-to-day? How often does the senior partner sit in?"
Compare quotes side by side. Most Kansas City firms on this list offer a free or low-cost initial consultation. Use two of them. Compare fee structure, retainer terms, and the answers to the same set of questions across firms.
Most Kansas City estate planning lawyers charge flat fees. A simple will and durable power of attorney for a single person runs $400 to $900. A married-couple package with wills, financial and medical powers of attorney, and HIPAA releases runs $900 to $1,800. A revocable living trust package — trust, pour-over will, powers of attorney, beneficiary deeds, and funding instructions — runs $2,200 to $4,500 for a typical couple and $5,500 to $9,500 for couples with business interests, blended families, or special-needs planning. Larger firms (Polsinelli, Lathrop GPM, Spencer Fane) bill hourly at $400 to $800 for higher-net-worth families and complex business succession.
A simple Kansas City estate plan takes two to four weeks: intake meeting (1 hour), drafting (1 to 2 weeks), signing meeting (45 minutes to 1 hour). A revocable trust with funding takes four to eight weeks because the firm has to retitle real estate, brokerage accounts, and business interests. Business-succession or special-needs plans typically take six to ten weeks because of the analysis and coordination with accountants.
Probate in the Kansas City metro is handled in the probate divisions of the circuit courts: Jackson County Circuit Court Probate Division (downtown KC and Independence), Clay County Probate Division (Liberty), Platte County (Platte City), and Cass County (Harrisonville). For Johnson County and Wyandotte County clients on the Kansas side, planning attorneys coordinate with Kansas district courts. Federal estate tax matters route to the IRS estate tax unit in Cincinnati.
Missouri estate planning law has its own contours. The local landscape differs in meaningful ways from neighboring states.
Missouri uses judicial supervision of estates. Probate in Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties runs through circuit court. A well-funded revocable trust avoids the supervised process. Without one, most Missouri estates take six to twelve months minimum and become public record.
Missouri has no state estate tax. Federal estate tax applies only to estates above the federal exemption (currently around $13 million per person). For most Kansas City families, the planning focus is incapacity, blended-family inheritance, special-needs trusts, business succession, and probate avoidance — not federal tax.
Beneficiary deeds work here. Missouri allows Transfer-on-Death deeds (RSMo 461.025) for real estate. A correctly drafted TOD deed transfers Kansas City real estate at death without probate — a popular tool for clients whose primary asset is the family home.
Kansas City spans two states. If you own a vacation home in Kansas, a brokerage account titled in both states, or a Kansas LLC, the wrong plan can trigger ancillary probate in both Missouri and Kansas. A Kansas City estate planning lawyer licensed in both states avoids that result.
The first hundred Google results for "estate planning lawyer Kansas City" include thousands of firms. Most are competent. A handful are problems. The patterns to walk away from:
Guaranteed outcomes. No ethical attorney can guarantee a result. If a firm promises a specific recovery, dismissal, or outcome, leave.
The vanishing partner. You meet a senior name at intake, then never speak to them again. Ask in writing who handles your case day to day.
Pressure to sign immediately. Reputable firms give you the retainer in writing, time to read it, and the option to take it home. High-pressure intake is almost always a volume mill.
No verifiable track record. The firm should point to published verdicts, settlements, peer rankings, or bar recognition. Specific cases, numbers, and third-party rankings are evidence. "We have helped thousands of clients" is marketing.
Vague fee terms. Every legitimate Kansas City lawyer will give you a written engagement letter with the fee structure, what is covered, what triggers extra charges, and what happens if you fire them. If the firm cannot put that in writing, walk away.
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The free consultation is short — usually 30 to 45 minutes. The lawyer cannot give you a serious case assessment without the documents. Bring the file. Most consultations turn into useful guidance only after the attorney has seen the paper trail.
A list of your assets. Home address, mortgage balance, brokerage and retirement account statements, bank balances, life insurance policies (face value and beneficiary), business interests, and any out-of-state property. Round numbers are fine — the goal is structure, not precision.
Your family map. Spouse (current and former), children (yours, theirs, blended), grandchildren, parents, siblings. Note anyone you want to include, anyone you want to exclude, and anyone with special needs or substance issues.
Existing documents. Old wills, trusts, powers of attorney, beneficiary forms, and any divorce decrees with surviving obligations. The new plan needs to coordinate with — or replace — every one of them.
Your goals. Who inherits, in what shares, with what conditions. Who decides if you cannot. Who raises minor children. What happens to the business. Write the answers down before the meeting.
Most Kansas City estate planning firms on this list offer a free or low-cost initial consultation. Use it. Bring a list of questions, write down the answers, and compare across two firms before you sign.
Most Kansas City families benefit from a revocable living trust because Missouri probate is judicial, takes 6 to 12 months, and is a public record. A will alone is enough for very simple estates, but a trust avoids probate, controls timing of distributions to beneficiaries, and handles incapacity. A Kansas City estate planning attorney can tell you which is right after a 30-minute consult.
Simple will and powers of attorney: $400 to $900 single, $900 to $1,800 married. Revocable trust package: $2,200 to $4,500 typical, $5,500 to $9,500 for blended families, businesses, or special-needs planning. Larger firms bill hourly at $400 to $800.
Most Jackson County and Clay County supervised probate cases run 6 to 12 months. Independent administration (simpler procedure) can finish in 4 to 8 months when the will allows it and no one contests.
Missouri has no state estate tax. Federal estate tax applies only above the federal exemption (currently around $13 million per person). Almost no Kansas City families owe federal estate tax.
Yes. Missouri allows Transfer-on-Death (Beneficiary) Deeds under RSMo 461.025. A correctly drafted TOD deed transfers the house at death without probate. A Kansas City estate planning attorney can prepare and record it for a flat fee.
Yes. Without coordinated planning, you can end up in ancillary probate in both states. A Kansas City estate planning attorney licensed in both Missouri and Kansas can structure the plan to avoid duplicate probate.
Missouri's Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care (RSMo 404.800 to 404.870) lets you appoint someone to make medical decisions if you cannot. Pair it with a Living Will (treatment-preference directive) and HIPAA release.
Yes — usually within the first year. State law on powers of attorney, beneficiary deeds, and trust funding varies between Missouri and prior-home states. A Kansas City estate planning attorney can review and update at a fraction of the cost of a new plan.
One last thing. Choosing a lawyer is personal. Read the reviews. Call two or three firms before you sign. Ask each one: How many cases like mine have you handled in the last three years? The answer tells you what you need to know. — The LawFirmSquare team