Sedgwick County Probate Records Overview
The DC18 Probate Department files and maintains records on probate actions and receives or disburses money as ordered by the court. Its case categories include estates, guardianships, conservatorships, care and treatment for mentally ill persons or alcoholics, and adoptions. DC18 says care and treatment cases and adoptions are confidential. Probate clerks process about 2,700 cases each year, file new cases, enter information on the court computer system, issue pleadings, and handle counter work tied to the probate docket.
The DC18 Probate Department source locates probate at the Juvenile Courthouse and identifies the local probate case categories.
That local department page is the anchor source for Sedgwick County probate access because it separates estate work from confidential adoption and care-treatment files.
Sedgwick County Probate Contact
Probate is not housed with the 6th floor Records Department. DC18 lists the Probate Department at the Juvenile Courthouse. The probate page also lists the main courthouse and juvenile courthouse as open 8 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday, while the Probate Department contact block gives probate counter hours of 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and says the office is closed Saturdays, Sundays, and federal holidays.
Probate Department of the 18th Judicial District Court
Juvenile Courthouse
1900 E. Morris Street
Wichita, KS 67211
316-660-5900
Fax: 316-941-5357
8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday-Friday
DC18 Records Department
Sedgwick County Courthouse
525 N. Main St., 6th Floor
Wichita, KS 67203
316-660-5900
Email: sg.micro@kscourts.gov
8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday-Friday
Sedgwick County Probate Terms
Probate records use terms that point to the role of a person or the type of case. A few definitions make the Sedgwick County probate docket easier to read, especially when a file involves estate administration, a protected person, or a court-appointed fiduciary.
- Testator
- A person who made a will before death.
- Executor
- The person named to carry out the will and administer estate tasks, subject to court authority.
- Intestate
- Dying without a valid will, which means estate property is handled under Kansas succession rules.
- Guardianship
- A case involving court authority over personal care or well-being for a minor or protected adult.
- Conservatorship
- A probate case for managing a person's financial affairs or property when court protection is needed.
- Fiduciary
- A person appointed or authorized to act for another person or estate, such as an executor, administrator, guardian, or conservator.
Search Sedgwick County Probate Records
Public probate records may be searchable through Kansas CaseSearch when the file is public and not excluded from the public portal. DC18 also provides courthouse public terminals through the Records Department at 525 N. Main, 6th floor, and written request channels for records that are not available online, require certification, are archived, or need staff research. Estate matters are more likely to be public than guardianship, conservatorship, care-treatment, or adoption material.
Probate calendars add a second access channel. The DC18 court schedule includes a Probate Daily Calendar for the next 7 days. DC18 says calendar information is for private use, is subject to change without notice, and can be searched in Adobe Reader by judge or case number. A calendar entry is not the full case file, but it can help confirm a hearing date or case number before a records request.
- Start with Kansas CaseSearch for a public estate or probate docket search by party name or case number.
- If the record is not online, use a public terminal at the DC18 Records Department or submit a written request.
- For hearings, check the Probate Daily Calendar on the DC18 court schedule page.
- For guardianship, conservatorship, care-treatment, or adoption matters, expect public portal limits and contact the court if you are a party, attorney, or have a court order.
- Request certified copies through DC18 Records when a probate document must be used for banking, transfer, filing, or legal proof.
Sedgwick County Probate Fees
DC18 points probate users to the Docket Fees page and printable fee schedule, but exact probate filing fees from that PDF were not available in the captured official materials. For that reason, filing fees for an original estate, guardianship, conservatorship, or other probate petition should be confirmed with DC18 before filing. Copy, certification, retrieval, and research costs were captured from the DC18 Records fee schedule and apply when a user requests probate record copies through the Records Department.
| Item | Amount or rule |
|---|---|
| Probate filing fees | Confirm with DC18 Docket Fees before filing; exact probate filing amounts were not available in captured materials. |
| Printed court copies | $0.25 per page |
| Emailed copies with no research time | No fee |
| Emailed copies with research time | $20 per hour, quarter-hour minimum, no charge for documents |
| Mailed First-Class copies | $0.50 per page for first five pages, then $0.25 per additional page |
| Document certification | $10 per document, raised seal upon request |
| Document authentication | $5 plus copy fees |
| Document retrieval | $30 per case file |
| Preauthorized Records staff research | $20 per hour, quarter-hour minimum |
Important: Confirm probate filing fees with DC18 before filing because the research captured copy fees, not the probate filing PDF amounts.
Sedgwick County Probate Forms
DC18 Probate links local and Kansas Judicial Council forms. The Probate page lists Annual Accounting SG (12-2025), Guardianship Report (2026), and Kansas Judicial Council probate forms for guardianship, conservatorships, and other protective forms for minors. The DC18 forms page also lists the Small Estates Affidavit under K.S.A. 59-1507b through the Kansas Judicial Council. Those forms matter because probate case work often continues after the first filing through annual accountings, reports, hearings, and orders.
- Estate forms may be used to open or administer a decedent's estate.
- Small estate affidavit can be a Kansas Judicial Council form path for qualifying small estates under K.S.A. 59-1507b.
- Guardianship reports keep the court informed about a protected person's status.
- Conservatorship accountings report financial activity for a protected person's estate.
- Probate calendars help track hearings after pleadings are issued.
Sedgwick County Probate Record Contents
A public Sedgwick County probate file may include the petition or application, case number, party names, fiduciary names, hearing notices, orders, accountings, inventories, receipts, distributions, and final closing documents. The exact contents depend on the case type. Estate files often focus on the decedent, heirs, assets, debts, and distribution. Guardianship and conservatorship files focus on a protected person's care or finances and may contain more restricted material.
| Record item | What it may show |
|---|---|
| Petition or application | The filing that opens the estate, guardianship, conservatorship, or other probate matter. |
| Case number | The court identifier used for CaseSearch, calendars, and DC18 requests. |
| Letters or appointment order | Authority granted to an executor, administrator, guardian, conservator, or other fiduciary. |
| Inventory or accounting | Property, funds, receipts, disbursements, or annual financial reporting when required. |
| Hearing notice or calendar entry | Scheduled probate court events shown through the docket or DC18 calendar. |
| Final order or closing document | The court action resolving or closing the probate matter. |
Restricted Sedgwick County Probate Records
Probate-related records can be public, partly public, or confidential. DC18 states care and treatment cases and adoptions are confidential. DC18 public portal exclusions also include guardian/conservatorship, care/treatment, and adoptions. That means a public user should not assume every probate file appears in Kansas CaseSearch, and should not expect adoption or care-treatment records to be released through ordinary public access.
K.S.A. 38-2209 makes specified child-in-need-of-care records confidential. The K.S.A. 38-2212 source gives procedures for certain requests involving CINC-related records.
Those juvenile confidentiality laws are relevant when probate-adjacent protective matters overlap with children or restricted court files.
The companion K.S.A. 38-2212 source addresses motion and notice procedure for access to some CINC-related records.
Together, those sources support cautious probate access language for juvenile-linked, adoption, guardianship, and care-treatment records.
Sedgwick County Probate Workflow
Local probate work starts with filing at the Probate Department or through any required e-filing path, using DC18 or Kansas Judicial Council forms. The clerk opens the case, enters information in the court system, issues pleadings, and places hearings on the probate calendar when needed. A fiduciary may then submit annual accountings, guardianship reports, inventories, receipts, or distribution papers. Money received or disbursed by the court follows court orders.
Certified probate copies and file inspection route back through DC18 records channels. If a case is archived, not converted, too large for quick handling, or requires staff research, DC18 may estimate fees before filling the request. Most in-person requests are generally filled at the time of request unless the file is archived or the request is large. Probate records also connect naturally with Sedgwick County marriage and divorce records when a family history or estate matter requires proof of relationship or marital status.