Executor Resignation and Removal Requirements in Kentucky

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Kentucky uses personal representative for executors and administrators. District Court supervises appointment, removal, account settlement, and replacement under KRS Chapter 395.

The main removal grounds are mandatory

Under KRS § 395.160(1), District Court shall remove a representative who:

• moves out of Kentucky and fails to designate the required process agent;
• becomes insane or otherwise incapable of discharging the trust; or
• becomes bankrupt, insolvent, or in failing circumstances.

If another personal representative remains, that cofiduciary continues the trust. If none remains, § 395.060 requires appointment of an administrator de bonis non or, for a testate estate, an administrator with the will annexed.

Bond failure is also mandatory. Under § 395.130(4), an executor already appointed shall be removed for failing to give a court-required surety bond. Section 395.160(2) uses a different rule for failure to provide added security required under § 62.060: the court may remove and appoint another.

Filing delinquency has staged notice and automatic nonappearance removal

Under § 395.255, the clerk reports overdue inventories and settlements monthly. The judge notifies the fiduciary, warns of penalties, and fixes a filing date. Missing that extended date leads to a show-cause order addressing removal, contempt, the statutory fine, denial of compensation, or another authorized fiduciary-breach penalty.

Failure to appear at that show-cause hearing results in automatic removal. The extension after a hearing ordinarily may not exceed 30 days unless a Circuit Court settlement suit is pending or the fiduciary shows good cause.

The removal statute supplies a limited notice rule

For § 395.160(1) removal, a representative who lives in the appointment county or an adjoining county and is not insane receives 10 days' notice before the removal order. If the representative is insane, notice goes to the representative's committee; if there is none, the court may appoint one.

The statute does not state a petition form, verified allegations, general hearing interval, or notice rule for every other representative. It names no beneficiary, creditor, cofiduciary, or surety as a general removal petitioner. The § 395.255 delinquency route instead begins with the clerk's report and judge's notices.

Resignation is recognized but its form is not supplied

Under § 395.325, if a fiduciary resigns or is removed, the fiduciary must, upon appointment of a successor, settle the accounts. The section states no signed-writing or petition requirement, service recipient, advance notice, consent, court-acceptance finding, or effective date for resignation.

Section 395.300 confirms that a successor may be appointed in the place of a representative who resigned, was removed, had letters revoked, ceased acting, or died. It does not add resignation filing mechanics.

Removal requires settlement and delivery to the replacement

Section 395.160(3) requires the removed representative to settle the accounts and deliver the decedent's estate to the person appointed in the representative's stead. Section 395.325 ties the resigning fiduciary's account settlement to successor appointment but states no number of days.

Under § 395.610, ordinary periodic accounting begins two years after appointment and recurs annually. A final settlement includes complete distribution accounting, creditor information, fiduciary and attorney fees, and tax provision. § 395.625 ordinarily uses at least 10 days' publication notice before the settlement hearing, with a court-approved mailed alternative to unpaid creditors and distributees.

A final settlement conforming to an approved proposed settlement is confirmed without another hearing and discharges the fiduciary and any surety under § 395.620(3). The general removal and resignation provisions do not state that departure alone releases a bond.

Liability and compensation consequences remain possible

Under § 395.300, the successor may sue the former representative, any administration-bond sureties, and the predecessor's representatives for damages or debts arising from maladministration or omission.

Section 395.255 makes denial of any service allowance one possible delinquency consequence. Otherwise, § 395.150 caps ordinary executor, administrator, or curator compensation at 5% of personal estate value plus 5% of collected income, subject to qualifying additional compensation.

Successor authority and temporary preservation use separate routes

Section 395.060 lets a surviving cofiduciary carry on the trust. With no survivor, the court appoints an administrator de bonis non or will-annexed administrator. § 395.040 and § 395.050 provide the general spouse and distributee priority and bar a will-annexed appointee whose interests are antagonistic to the will.

Under § 395.105, replacement appointment becomes effective only when the judge signs the order, any required bond is presented, and the oath is administered or authorized declaration filed. Letters must precede acting. § 395.280 allows the court to substitute the successor in a pending action.

When a valid cause delays permanent letters, § 395.410 permits a bonded curator to collect and preserve estate property until the delay ends. The cited removal provisions state no separate interim suspension of the outgoing representative.

Prior lawful acts survive; no special appeal rule appears

Under § 395.330, lawful prior acts and good-faith lawful sales of personal property remain valid after removal, revocation, or invalidation of the will. The cited statutes state no special removal appeal, automatic stay, temporary-on-appeal status, or reinstatement route.

What trips people up

• Kentucky's main statutory grounds say “shall remove.” They are not a discretionary good-cause list.
• Resignation and discharge are different. The resignation section does not supply mechanics, and account settlement follows successor appointment.
• The two bond defaults use different consequences. Refusal of an ordered surety bond by an appointed executor requires removal; failure of added security under § 62.060 permits removal.

Common questions

Does a representative always get 10 days' notice? No. Section 395.160 expressly attaches that period to a non-insane representative residing in the appointment county or an adjoining county.

What happens if the delinquent fiduciary misses show cause? Section 395.255 makes removal automatic for failure to appear.

Can the successor pursue the former executor or bond? Yes. Section 395.300 authorizes the successor's action for maladministration or omission damages or debts against the predecessor, any administration-bond sureties, and the predecessor's representatives.

Statutes and sources

• KRS §§ 395.130, 395.160, and 395.255 — mandatory and discretionary grounds, bond default, notice, show cause, and automatic nonappearance removal. — official § 395.160 (accessed 2026-08-28).
• KRS §§ 395.060, 395.280, 395.300, and 395.325 — resignation account, continuation, substitution, successor suit, and predecessor exposure. — official § 395.325 (accessed 2026-08-28).
• KRS §§ 395.040, 395.050, 395.105, and 395.410 — replacement priority, qualification, letters, and curator protection. — official § 395.060 (accessed 2026-08-28).
• KRS §§ 395.150, 395.610, 395.620, and 395.625 — compensation, periodic and final settlement, notice, and qualifying discharge of fiduciary and surety. — official § 395.610 (accessed 2026-08-28).
• KRS § 395.330 — continuing validity of prior lawful acts. — current official text (accessed 2026-08-28).