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Kentucky Surviving Spouse Rights
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Kentucky Surviving Spouse Rights

Kentucky keeps dower and curtesy, not a UPC elective share. A surviving spouse can renounce the will under KRS 392.080 within six months of probate.

By Settled Editorial

A Kentucky will cannot fully disinherit a surviving spouse. The state protects the survivor through dower and curtesy under KRS 392.020, not a Uniform Probate Code elective share. A spouse who dislikes the will renounces it under KRS 392.080 within six months of probate and takes the statutory share instead.

That renunciation right is where this guide starts, because it is the tool a disinherited spouse reaches for first. Three separate protections sit around it: the dower or curtesy share the renunciation delivers, the flat $30,000 Kentucky exempt-property allowance, and, when there is no will at all, the intestate share worked out in the Kentucky intestate succession guide. Estates run through the District Court for the county where the person lived, listed in the Kentucky probate court directory.

Dower and Curtesy, Not an Elective Share

Kentucky is one of a handful of states that still runs spousal protection through dower and curtesy. Do not describe it with the generic elective-share framing that fits most states, because the math and the mechanics are different. KRS 392.020 says so directly: any reference in Kentucky law to "dower" or "curtesy" means the surviving spouse's interest created by that section.

The interest has two parts. On the real-estate side, KRS 392.020(1)(a) gives the survivor a life estate in one-third of any real estate the deceased spouse held in fee simple during the marriage but no longer owned at death. Read that carefully. It reaches land the decedent owned while married and then gave up before dying, not the land still owned at death, because land owned at death passes under the Kentucky intestate succession rules or the will. On the personal-property side, KRS 392.020(1)(b) gives the survivor an absolute estate, meaning full ownership, in one-half of the surplus personalty the decedent left.

This share is layered on top of whatever the spouse takes under KRS 391.010, the statute that governs real estate when someone dies without a will. Dower and curtesy do not replace the intestate share. They stack on it, unless the right has been barred, forfeited, or relinquished.

Renouncing the Will Under KRS 392.080

When a Kentucky spouse dies with a will that leaves the survivor too little, the survivor can renounce the will. Under KRS 392.080, the surviving spouse releases what the will gives and instead receives the share under KRS 392.020 as if no will had been made. One limit changes the picture: on renunciation, the share of any real estate the decedent owned in fee simple at death is capped at one-third.

So a renouncing spouse should compare two paths before choosing. Taking under the will means keeping the exact gifts the will names. Renouncing means giving those gifts up and taking the dower or curtesy share instead, with the at-death real estate held to one-third. Renouncing is worth it only when the statutory share beats the will, so run both numbers first.

What the Renouncing Spouse Takes

PropertyRenunciation share under KRS 392.080 and 392.020
Surplus personaltyOne-half, owned outright
Real estate owned in fee at deathOne-third
Real estate owned in fee during the marriage but not at deathA life estate in one-third

The one-third cap on at-death real estate matters because an intestate spouse can take more. For deaths on or after July 15, 2026, the amended KRS 391.010 gives a spouse who inherits without a will the whole of the real estate, or one-half in a blended family. Renouncing a will does not reach that fuller intestate real-estate share. It delivers the one-third dower or curtesy figure. The Kentucky intestate succession guide works the no-will scheme in full.

The Six-Month Deadline and How to File

The renunciation runs on a short clock, and it takes two filings, not one. Under KRS 392.080(1)(b), the spouse acknowledges the relinquishment before an officer authorized to take oaths, then files it both with the clerk of the court that admitted the will to probate and with the county clerk of the county where the will was admitted, within six months after the will is admitted to probate. Miss either filing or the deadline and the right is gone, so calendar the date the moment the will is admitted and confirm both clerks received the document.

Two things can move the deadline. If someone contests the will within those six months, the spouse need not renounce until six months after that action is disposed of. And the District Court can grant up to six more months on the spouse's application, if the spouse asks within six months of probate. A renunciation and a will contest are separate remedies that readers often blur: one takes the statutory share instead of the will, the other attacks the will's validity. The Kentucky will requirements guide covers when a will is valid in the first place.

A Gift On Top of Dower

Not every devise cancels the dower share. KRS 392.080(2) says a spouse can keep a bequest or devise in addition to the KRS 392.020 share when the testator plainly intended that result in the will, or when the will makes that intent necessarily inferable. So read the will closely before assuming a gift and the statutory share cannot both apply.

What Counts as Surplus Personalty

The one-half personalty share turns on the meaning of surplus personalty, and Kentucky defines it broadly to stop a spouse from being cut out through nonprobate transfers. Under KRS 392.020(2), surplus personalty folds back in personal property the decedent held at death that was payable by a beneficiary designation, a transfer-on-death designation, or a payable-on-death designation, including retirement accounts, along with property jointly owned with right of survivorship. Under subsection (5), it also reaches property in a revocable trust and property over which the decedent held a general power of appointment.

Two rules keep the sweep fair. A gratuitous transfer the decedent made two or more years before death stays out of the surplus, while a gift made within two years counts, under KRS 392.020(6). And the spouse's one-half is credited with the nonprobate personal property the spouse already received, and reduced by any payment made toward funeral and burial expenses, under subsections (3) and (4). A death benefit on the decedent's own life insurance is left out of the surplus, but insurance proceeds paid to the spouse are credited against the share.

The takeaway is that dower and curtesy can reach assets that never entered probate. If you are mapping which accounts avoid probate for other reasons, the how to avoid probate in Kentucky guide walks the same transfer types. Because the number turns on dates, credits, and titles, gather the beneficiary and account records early and confirm the combined figure with the District Court or a Kentucky attorney before anyone distributes.

When Dower or Curtesy Does Not Apply

The rights are strong, and they are not absolute. Several rules bar or forfeit them.

Land the decedent sold. Under KRS 392.040, a surviving spouse has no dower or curtesy in land the decedent sold but did not convey before the marriage, nor in land sold in good faith after the marriage to satisfy an encumbrance created before it or a purchase-money lien. If a surplus is left after the lien is paid, the spouse can take dower or curtesy out of that surplus.

Divorce. Under KRS 392.090, an absolute divorce bars every claim of either former spouse to the other's real and personal property after death. A final divorce ends the marriage, so a former spouse is not a surviving spouse.

Abandonment and adultery. The same statute forfeits the rights of a spouse who voluntarily leaves the other and lives in adultery, unless the two later reconcile and live together again.

Waiver. KRS 392.020 lets the right be relinquished, so a written agreement such as a prenuptial or postnuptial contract can waive dower or curtesy. Confirm the terms of any waiver with a Kentucky attorney before relying on it.

The $30,000 Exempt-Property Allowance

Renunciation is not the only floor under a surviving spouse. Under KRS 391.030, the survivor sets apart up to $30,000 of personal property or money for deaths on or after July 15, 2020, and $15,000 for earlier deaths. When there is no surviving spouse, the surviving children take it. A spouse can also petition the District Court to withdraw up to $2,500 from the decedent's bank while the estate is pending, charged against the same allowance.

This allowance is separate from dower and curtesy and does not reduce them. A spouse who renounces the will takes the exemption in addition to, and before, the statutory share. A spouse who accepts the will keeps it too. The Kentucky exempt-property guide covers the amount, the date-of-death banding, and how to claim it, so this guide does not restate that answer.

No Will at All

When there is no will, the spouse does not renounce anything, because there is nothing to renounce. The survivor takes the intestate share under KRS 391.010 for real estate and KRS 391.030 for personal property, with dower and curtesy layered on top. Kentucky rewrote its descent statute in 2026, and the date of death picks which rule applies, so start with the date on the death certificate. The Kentucky intestate succession guide maps the current shares and the 2026 change.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my spouse disinherit me in Kentucky?

Not fully. Even a will that leaves you nothing cannot take away your right to renounce it under KRS 392.080 and receive the dower or curtesy share under KRS 392.020, which is one-half of the surplus personalty plus one-third of the real estate your spouse owned at death. You also keep the $30,000 exempt-property allowance under KRS 391.030.

How long do I have to renounce the will in Kentucky?

Six months after the will is admitted to probate. Under KRS 392.080, you acknowledge the relinquishment before an officer and file it with both the clerk of the court that admitted the will and the county clerk. A will contest brought within those six months, or a District Court order, can extend the window.

Is Kentucky an elective-share state?

No. Kentucky keeps dower and curtesy under KRS 392.020 and does not use the Uniform Probate Code elective share against an augmented estate. The surviving spouse renounces the will and takes the dower or curtesy share, so avoid a generic elective-share description for a Kentucky estate.

Does dower reach a payable-on-death or joint account?

Often yes. KRS 392.020 defines surplus personalty to include property that passed by beneficiary, transfer-on-death, or payable-on-death designation, property owned jointly with right of survivorship, and property in a revocable trust. The spouse's one-half share is then credited with the nonprobate property the spouse already received.

When to Bring in a Kentucky Attorney

Parts of these rights read straight off the statute. Others turn on facts a licensed Kentucky attorney should review, above all when:

  • the will leaves the spouse less than the dower or curtesy share, and the renounce-or-take decision is close
  • the six-month renunciation deadline is near, or a will contest is pending
  • the estate holds nonprobate accounts, joint property, or a revocable trust that the surplus-personalty rules may reach
  • gifts the decedent made within two years of death have to be counted back into the surplus
  • a prenuptial or marital agreement may have waived dower or curtesy
  • the estate mixes real property with debt, so the one-third real-estate figure has to be computed

This guide helps you organize the source-backed rights and the questions to ask. A licensed Kentucky attorney can advise on a specific estate, its deadlines, and its disputes. This is general information about Kentucky estates, not advice for your situation. Whoever settles the estate still files through the District Court and follows the steps in the Kentucky executor duties guide and the Kentucky probate guide.

Related Guides

Sources:

It is not legal advice.

Information current as of July 20, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Kentucky can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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