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Kentucky Probate Guide

County-specific probate filing-office contacts, filing fees, required forms, and step-by-step guidance for families settling an estate in Kentucky.

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Types of Probate in Kentucky

Kentucky probate is handled by the District Court in the county where the decedent lived, which admits the will and appoints the executor or administrator. The path depends on the estate: the court can dispense with administration for a small estate under KRS 395.455 (the $30,000 KRS 391.030 exemption), close an estate of any size by written agreement of all beneficiaries when there are no debts (KRS 395.470), or run a full administration under District Court supervision.

See the full comparison of Kentucky probate typesWhich procedures exist, who qualifies, and how the timelines compare.
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Kentucky Probate Filing Offices by County

Choose your county to get its probate court contacts, filing fees, and required forms. 120 counties have detailed data.

Full data available: JeffersonFull data available: FayetteFull data available: KentonFull data available: BooneFull data available: WarrenFull data available: HardinFull data available: DaviessFull data available: CampbellFull data available: MadisonFull data available: BullittFull data available: ChristianFull data available: Oldham
Show all 120 counties
Full data available: AdairFull data available: AllenFull data available: AndersonFull data available: BallardFull data available: BarrenFull data available: BathFull data available: BellFull data available: BourbonFull data available: BoydFull data available: BoyleFull data available: BrackenFull data available: BreathittFull data available: BreckinridgeFull data available: ButlerFull data available: CaldwellFull data available: CallowayFull data available: CarlisleFull data available: CarrollFull data available: CarterFull data available: CaseyFull data available: ClarkFull data available: ClayFull data available: ClintonFull data available: CrittendenFull data available: CumberlandFull data available: EdmonsonFull data available: ElliottFull data available: EstillFull data available: FlemingFull data available: FloydFull data available: FranklinFull data available: FultonFull data available: GallatinFull data available: GarrardFull data available: GrantFull data available: GravesFull data available: GraysonFull data available: GreenFull data available: GreenupFull data available: HancockFull data available: HarlanFull data available: HarrisonFull data available: HartFull data available: HendersonFull data available: HenryFull data available: HickmanFull data available: HopkinsFull data available: JacksonFull data available: JessamineFull data available: JohnsonFull data available: KnottFull data available: KnoxFull data available: LaRueFull data available: LaurelFull data available: LawrenceFull data available: LeeFull data available: LeslieFull data available: LetcherFull data available: LewisFull data available: LincolnFull data available: LivingstonFull data available: LoganFull data available: LyonFull data available: MagoffinFull data available: MarionFull data available: MarshallFull data available: MartinFull data available: MasonFull data available: McCrackenFull data available: McCrearyFull data available: McLeanFull data available: MeadeFull data available: MenifeeFull data available: MercerFull data available: MetcalfeFull data available: MonroeFull data available: MontgomeryFull data available: MorganFull data available: MuhlenbergFull data available: NelsonFull data available: NicholasFull data available: OhioFull data available: OwenFull data available: OwsleyFull data available: PendletonFull data available: PerryFull data available: PikeFull data available: PowellFull data available: PulaskiFull data available: RobertsonFull data available: RockcastleFull data available: RowanFull data available: RussellFull data available: ScottFull data available: ShelbyFull data available: SimpsonFull data available: SpencerFull data available: TaylorFull data available: ToddFull data available: TriggFull data available: TrimbleFull data available: UnionFull data available: WashingtonFull data available: WayneFull data available: WebsterFull data available: WhitleyFull data available: WolfeFull data available: Woodford

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Kentucky Probate Guides

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Kentucky Probate Self-Help and Online Resources

Kentucky Estate Law Overview

Kentucky Estate Tax Info

Kentucky has no effective state ESTATE tax (its estate tax is a dormant 'pick-up' tax tied to a federal credit that no longer exists), but Kentucky DOES levy a state INHERITANCE tax. Whether inheritance tax is owed depends on the beneficiary's relationship to the decedent: Class A beneficiaries pay nothing, while Class B and Class C beneficiaries are taxed above small exemptions. Kentucky is NOT a no-death-tax state.

No
State Estate Tax
Yes
Inheritance Tax
Yes
State Income Tax
Federal estate tax info

Federal estate tax only applies to estates exceeding $15,000,000 (2026).

Who Inherits Without a Will?

Intestate succession determines who receives a decedent's property when a Kentucky resident dies without a valid will. Kentucky splits the rules by asset type: real estate descends under KRS 391.010, and surplus personal property is distributed under KRS 391.030 to the same persons and in the same proportions as real estate.

View spouse inheritance rules
The decedent leaves no surviving descendantThe entirety of the real estate

Under KRS 391.010(1)(a)1., if there is no surviving descendant of the decedent, the surviving spouse takes the entirety of the real estate. Under KRS 391.030 the surplus personalty likewise passes to the spouse, along with the $30,000 exempt allowance.

The decedent is survived by descendants, and all of them are also descendants of the surviving spouseThe entirety of the real estate

Under KRS 391.010(1)(a)2., if the decedent is survived by one or more descendants all of whom are also descendants of the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse takes the entirety. This is the modern rule added by 2026 Ky. Acts ch. 134, effective July 15, 2026.

The decedent is survived by one or more descendants who are not lineal descendants of the surviving spouseOne-half (1/2) of the real estate

Under KRS 391.010(1)(a)3., if the decedent is survived by one or more descendants who are not lineal descendants of the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse takes one-half of the real estate and the balance passes to the decedent's descendants under KRS 391.010(2) and KRS 391.040 (per stirpes).

All of the decedent's descendants are also the surviving spouse's descendants, but the surviving spouse has one or more descendants who are not descendants of the decedentOne-half (1/2) of the real estate

Under KRS 391.010(1)(a)4., where the decedent's descendants are all shared with the spouse but the spouse also has descendants who are not the decedent's, the surviving spouse takes one-half rather than the entirety.

View order of inheritance (no spouse)
  1. 1Surviving spouse (real estate)The entirety, or one-half in a blended-family situation, of the real estate under KRS 391.010(1); plus the surplus-personalty distribution and $30,000 exempt allowance under KRS 391.030; plus dower/curtesy under KRS 392.020
  2. 2Children of the decedent and their descendantsThe interest not passing to a surviving spouse, or the entire estate if there is no spouse; per stirpes
  3. 3Father and motherOne moiety (one-half) each if both survive; if only one parent survives, that parent takes the whole
  4. 4Brothers and sisters and their descendantsEqually, with descendants of a deceased sibling taking that sibling's share per stirpes; a half-blood sibling takes only half as much as a whole-blood sibling (KRS 391.050)
  5. 5Grandparents; then aunts and uncles and their descendants; then stepchildrenOne moiety to the paternal and one to the maternal grandfather and grandmother equally (survivor of a moiety takes the whole moiety); if none, to the uncles and aunts and their descendants; if none, to the stepchildren of the decedent
  6. 6Commonwealth of Kentucky (escheat)If no kindred described in KRS 391.010(5) survives, the whole estate vests in the state

Kentucky Homestead Protection

Kentucky homestead protection is a limited statutory creditor exemption plus a family occupancy right, not an unlimited constitutional homestead. Under KRS 427.060, a debtor's aggregate interest, not exceeding $5,000 in value, in real or personal property used as a permanent residence (or in a burial plot) is exempt from sale under execution, attachment, or judgment, except to foreclose a mortgage given by the owner or for purchase money. Separately, KRS 427.070 gives the surviving spouse a right to occupy the homestead for as long as he or she occupies it, and unmarried minor children a joint occupancy right until the youngest reaches full age.

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Creditor protection: read the statute text

$5,000 per debtor. Kentucky does not provide a statutory doubling for married couples in KRS 427.060, though each individual debtor has a $5,000 exemption. The exemption does not apply to a mortgage given by the owner or to purchase money due on the property, and does not apply if the debt existed before the property was purchased or the improvements were made (KRS 427.060).

Statute: KRS 427.060

Size limits & qualifications

Inside city limits: No acreage split modeled

Outside city limits: No acreage split modeled

Property types: Real estate used as the permanent residence, Personal property used as the residence (for example a mobile home; verify titling specifics), A burial plot for the debtor or a dependent (KRS 427.060)

Restrictions on leaving homestead in will

With spouse, no minor children:

No state-level homestead devise restriction is modeled; review the surviving spouse's dower/curtesy (KRS 392.020), right to renounce the will (KRS 392.080), and homestead occupancy right (KRS 427.070) separately.

With minor children:

No devise restriction is modeled; unmarried minor children have a homestead occupancy right under KRS 427.070 until the youngest reaches full age rather than taking under a devise restriction.

Exempt Property

Kentucky protects the surviving spouse (or, if none, the surviving children) with a $30,000 exempt-property allowance under KRS 391.030, rather than an itemized probate exempt-property list. The District Court sets apart up to $30,000 of personal property or money, exempt from distribution and sale, on application. Separate debtor-protection exemptions for a living person's property (household goods, one vehicle, tools, and a $5,000 homestead) live in KRS Chapter 427 and are creditor exemptions, not probate allowances.

View exempt items
Surviving Spouse's / Children's Exempt-Property Allowance (estate protection)
Kentucky does not use an itemized probate exempt-property list. Under KRS 391.030(1)(c), personal property or money on hand or in a bank or other depository up to $30,000 is exempt from distribution and sale and is set apart by the District Court on application of the surviving spouse (or, if there is no surviving spouse, the surviving children). The claimant may select the exempt property out of the estate's personal property so long as the value selected does not exceed $30,000 (KRS 391.030(3)). The same $30,000 exemption applies in a testate estate (KRS 391.030(4)).
$30,000 (deaths on or after July 15, 2020); $15,000 (deaths before July 15, 2020)
Surviving Spouse's Bank Withdrawal (interim access)
Before the exempt property or money is set apart, the surviving spouse may petition the District Court for an order authorizing withdrawal of up to $2,500 from any bank or other depository belonging to the estate; the withdrawal is charged against the exempt property (KRS 391.030(2)).
$2,500
Homestead / Residence (creditor exemption)
KRS 427.060 exempts a debtor's aggregate interest, not exceeding $5,000 in value, in real or personal property used as a permanent residence (or in a burial plot), from sale under execution, attachment, or judgment, with exceptions for a mortgage given by the owner or purchase money. This is a creditor exemption; it does not itself transfer title at death.
$5,000
Household Furnishings, Jewelry, Clothing (creditor exemption)
KRS 427.010(1) exempts all household furnishings, jewelry, personal clothing, and ornaments of an individual debtor not exceeding $3,000 in value from execution, attachment, garnishment, or distress.
$3,000
One Motor Vehicle (creditor exemption)
KRS 427.010(1) exempts one motor vehicle and its necessary accessories, including one spare tire, not exceeding $2,500 in the aggregate.
$2,500
Tools, Equipment, and Livestock of a Person Engaged in Farming (creditor exemption)
KRS 427.010(1) exempts tools, equipment, and livestock, including poultry, of a person engaged in farming, not exceeding $3,000 in value; KRS 427.030 and 427.040 exempt other debtors' tools and a professional library and one vehicle.
$3,000
Health Aids and Health Savings Funds (creditor exemption)
KRS 427.010(1) exempts professionally prescribed health aids for the debtor or a dependent and funds in a health savings account under Section 223 of the Internal Revenue Code.
Generally exempt

Family Allowance

$30,000 (deaths on or after July 15, 2020); $15,000 (deaths before July 15, 2020). Fixed statutory amounts; not indexed for inflation. - Kentucky's family protection is the KRS 391.030 exempt-property allowance rather than a separate periodic family allowance. Up to $30,000 of personal property or money is set apart to the surviving spouse (or, if none, the surviving children), exempt from distribution and sale. Kentucky does not provide a separate ongoing maintenance allowance during administration.

Kentucky Probate Questions

How much does probate cost in Kentucky?
Kentucky probate filing fees vary by county and type of administration. According to Kentucky court fee schedules, filing fees typically range from $200-$500 depending on the procedure. Additional costs include certified copy fees, publication notice fees ($50-$200), and potential bond premiums. Attorney fees may be statutory or hourly depending on state law. Use our free Kentucky fee calculator for county-specific estimates.
How long does probate take in Kentucky?
Kentucky probate often takes about 6 to 12 months. The practical floor is the six-month creditor claim period, which runs from the appointment of the personal representative (KRS 396.011), not from a published notice, and the inventory is due within 90 days of qualifying (KRS 395.250). A small estate that qualifies to dispense with administration under KRS 395.455 can close much faster, and an estate of any size with no debts can close by beneficiary agreement (KRS 395.470).
Do I need an attorney for probate in Kentucky?
Kentucky does not require a personal representative to hire an attorney, and many small or uncontested estates are settled without one. Attorney help is worth considering for a full District Court administration, when the estate is insolvent or contested, or when real estate, a business, or a will dispute is involved. The estate can pay a reasonable attorney fee, which the District Court reviews on settlement.
Are these Kentucky probate resources county-specific?
No. This map shows state-level source links from Settled data. Use it with the Kentucky county page and the county office handling the estate before filing.
Which Kentucky source should I use first?
Start with the official court, form, or agency source for the task, then confirm local requirements with the county filing office, clerk, register, or office that accepts the filing.
Does the Kentucky Probate Resource Map replace attorney review?
No. The map is source navigation. It helps families find current public sources, but it does not decide eligibility, prepare filings, or replace advice from counsel.