Divorce in Kansas

1. Waiting period

   60 days

   A divorce cannot be heard until 60 days after the petition is filed, unless the judge declares an emergency.^[1]

   K.S.A. 23-2708 · checked October 26, 2026

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   “An action for divorce shall not be heard until 60 days after the filing of the petition unless the judge enters an order declaring the existence of an emergency”

2. Residency requirement

   60 days

   Either spouse must have actually lived in Kansas for 60 days right before the petition is filed; people stationed at a Kansas military post for 60 days may file in an adjacent county.^[2]

   K.S.A. 23-2703 · checked October 26, 2026

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   “The petitioner or respondent in an action for divorce must have been an actual resident of the state for 60 days immediately preceding the filing of the petition.”

3. No-fault divorce

   Yes, fault grounds also exist

   Kansas grants divorce for incompatibility, for failure to perform a material marital duty or obligation, or for incompatibility due to a spouse's mental illness or incapacity.^[3]

   K.S.A. 23-2701(a) · checked October 26, 2026

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   “The district court shall grant a decree of divorce or separate maintenance for any of the following grounds: (1) Incompatibility; (2) failure to perform a material marital duty or obligation; or (3) incompatibility by reason of mental illness or mental incapacity of one or both spouses.”

4. Property division

   Equitable distribution

   The court divides all real and personal property of the spouses, whenever acquired, in kind, by award with a balancing payment, or by sale, weighing statutory factors to reach a just and reasonable division.^[4]

   Opt-in community property trust law signed in 2026 (HB 2590); effective date pending. 2026 Kan. HB 2590

   Community property in Kansas: the statute quoted →

   K.S.A. 23-2802 · checked October 26, 2026

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   “such other factors as the court considers necessary to make a just and reasonable division of property.”

5. Court mediation for custody

   Court may order

   The court or a hearing officer may order mediation of any contested custody, residency, visitation, parenting time, property or other issue at any time, on a party's motion or on its own.^[5]

   K.S.A. 23-3502(a) · checked October 26, 2026

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   “The court or hearing officer may order mediation of any contested issue of child custody, residency, visitation, parenting time, division of property or other issues, at any time, upon motion of a party or on the court's own motion.”

6. Court mediation fees

   Taxed to the parties as equity requires

   Costs of court-ordered mediation are charged to one or both parties as equity and justice require, unless the parties reasonably agree on payment.^[6]

   K.S.A. 23-3506 · checked October 26, 2026

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   “The costs of any mediation ordered under K.S.A. 23-3502* shall be taxed to either or both parties as equity and justice require, unless the parties have reached a reasonable agreement as to payment of the costs.”

7. Filing fee

   Not yet verified

   Start with this official source.

8. Alimony

   Court decides, within limits

   Kansas courts may award maintenance in an amount they find fair, just and equitable under all the circumstances; the statute lists no factors or formula. A court may not award maintenance for more than 121 months, though a recipient can ask for reinstatement if the decree reserves that power.

   Alimony in Kansas, with the statute quoted →

9. Divorce rate

   1.7 per 1,000 residents (2024)

   Kansas’s courts granted 1.7 divorces per 1,000 residents in 2024, down from 3.6 in 2000; the U.S. rate was 2.3. In the Census Bureau’s 2024 survey, 6.4 of every 1,000 women 15 and older in Kansas divorced in the past year (±1.2; U.S. 6.9), a different measure.^[8][9]

   Divorce rates by state, with sources → · CDC/NCHS NVSS; Census ACS · checked October 27, 2026

Estimate your divorce cost in Kansas: mediation vs. court →

How child support is calculated in Kansas →

Mediators per 100,000: MediationList listings from official court and government rosters in Kansas (249) ÷ population (2,970,606, U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 county population estimates (July 1, 2024)) × 100,000, the same figure as mediator statistics.^[7]