Kentucky Wills, Trusts, and Probate

Although planning for your incapacity and death can be a difficult and emotionally jarring process, it is imperative that you put together a sound estate plan with good instructions so that your loved ones are taken care of after your death or incapacity. Your estate plan may include several documents, such as a trust, advanced care directive, will, power of attorney, and/or healthcare surrogate designation. Contact a Kentucky estate planning lawyer to find out how to craft the plan that is best for you.

Make sure to update your estate plan whenever significant events occur in your life (birth, marriage, divorce, death, retirement) so that your desires are accurately followed. Discuss any revisions to your estate plan with your Kentucky estate attorney.

Kentucky Will

Discuss your will with a Kentucky will attorney to check that your will is correctly worded according to Kentucky legal requirements. Failing to include the right language in your will may result in your final wishes not being carried out as you had planned. In addition to proper wording, you must also follow certain formalities in executing your will. These formalities include:

1. Witnesses: In Kentucky, two adult witnesses must sign the testator's will in the testator's presence, and must watch the testator sign his will. Witnesses may not be will beneficiaries, and the spouses of witnesses may not be will beneficiaries.

1. Notarization: Your will does not have to be notarized, but a notarized will is considered self-proving when accompanied by an affidavit, and will automatically be admitted to probate in Kentucky. Having a self-proving will means that the original witnesses do not have to be located and attest to the will in probate court before the will may be admitted to probate. If the will is not self-proving, the original witnesses must be located and attest to the will in court before the will is admitted.

Changing a Will in Kentucky

There are several methods through which you may alter your will in Kentucky:

1. Draft a codicil (separate piece of paper attached to the will) which lists additions and amendments to the will;
2. Make a new will with provisions that are inconsistent with the old will; and
3. Physically destroy the old will by obliterating, tearing or burning the will.

Make sure that your codicil or new will meet all the requisite will formalities and legal language requirements of Kentucky law. A Kentucky will attorney should be notified if you make changes to your will.

Kentucky Trust

Kentucky trusts provide an alternative means of distribution for your estate, if you seek to avoid the probate process, save on estate taxes, and have a greater degree of flexibility. Trusts can be set up for almost limitless purposes, and can be ideally constructed to suit your situation. They can be revocable, irrevocable or inter vivos. Discuss your options in setting up a trust with a Kentucky estate planning lawyer.

Kentucky Probate

When a citizen of Kentucky dies, property referenced in his will must go through the probate process. If some of the deceased's property is not set aside for a specific person or people in the will, or if the deceased does not leave a will and the property passes through intestate succession, Kentucky law decides who gets what property based on his or her blood relationship to the deceased. This procedure is called intestate succession.

In Kentucky, interested parties may petition the court to determine who should receive property and how many shares of the property each party should receive. This often happens when property passes by intestate succession or when a testator's will is ambiguous regarding who should receive property or what amount of property should be dispensed to each individual.

If your estate qualifies as a Small Estate in Kentucky, the deceased's Personal Representative may receive for disbursal the property in the estate without having to go through the formal probate procedure. You should speak with a Kentucky probate attorney about any questions or concerns you may have.

Relatives that may inherit from the deceased under Kentucky intestate succession laws include (non-exhaustive):

1. Spouses
2. Children (including adopted children, children born out of wedlock, and half bloods)
3. Grandchildren
4. Parents
5. Brothers and sisters
6. Aunts and uncles

• The following assets may not pass through probate:
• non-probate assets – there is a clear beneficiary designated in the will or trust and the assets pass immediately to the designated beneficiary;
• contract assets – money set aside for a particular recipient that includes life insurance policies, retirement funds, and inter vivos trusts; and,
• jointly held property –real or personal property owned by the deceased and by other persons. Upon the death of one of the parties, ownership of the property is automatically split and transferred to the other parties. Examples of such property include: houses, bank accounts, and automobiles.

Wills may be disputed long after their creation. To ensure that your will holds up against potential challenges, talk to a Kentucky wills, trusts and estates attorney about any concerns you have or unease you feel about your will.

Kentucky Revised Statutes

Kentucky Revised Statutes, Title 34 – Descent, Wills, and Administration

1. Probate Code: Wills
1. Kentucky Revised Statutes, Tit. 34, Chp. 394.
2. Probate Code: Intestate Succession
1. Kentucky Revised Statutes, Tit. 34, Chp. 391.
3. Probate Code: Administration of Estates
1. Kentucky Revised Statutes, Tit. 33.
4. Kentucky Trust Code
1. Kentucky Revised Statutes, Tit. 33, Chp. 386.