Q: Brake down K.S.A.59-602 so a 5th grader can understand.

A: The statute provides:

59-602. Limitation on testamentary power. Any devise or other disposition of real estate located in this state taking effect in possession or enjoyment at death, and any bequest or other disposition of any personal property by a resident of this state taking effect in possession or enjoyment at death, without regard to the time when the will or other instrument containing such devise, bequest or other such disposition shall have been made, to any foreign country, subdivision thereof, or city, body politic, or corporation, located therein or existing under the laws thereof, or in trust or otherwise to any trustee or agent thereof, except devises, bequests or other such dispositions to institutions created and existing exclusively for religious, educational, or charitable purposes, is hereby prohibited. Any such devise, bequest or other such disposition shall be void.

The statute appears to limit the power of an individual to make a gift at death to a foreign country or any city, state, county or other subdivision, directly or indirectly through a trust. An exception is made for a gift at death to an institution serving a religious, educational, or charitable purpose.

Not having explored the legislative or judicial history of the statute, one might conjecture that the purpose of the statute is to avoid having substantial assets within the state owned by a foreign country and the difficulty of applying laws of a state to a foreign country.