Petition to Probate a Will Requirements in Kentucky

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Proceeding, court, and applicant

Kentucky uses a verified application to admit a will to probate and record in District Court under KRS §§ 394.130 and 394.145. The application may combine probate with appointment of the will-named executor or an administrator with the will annexed. The applicant is the person offering the will; § 394.145 does not limit that role to the nominee.

Venue under KRS § 394.140 begins with the District Court of the testator's Kentucky residence at death. If the residence was on a United States Army post, reservation, or fort, an adjacent county is available. For a testator with no known Kentucky residence, devised land controls; if no land is devised, venue may follow death, estate property, or a debt owed to the testator.

Verified application, appointment fields, and the will

The probate application states residence, jurisdiction facts, and the names, ages, and post-office addresses of the surviving spouse and any known heirs the court requires. A combined appointment request carries a second, more current set of fields under KRS 395.015: date of death; known spouse and heir postal and email addresses; applicant debt to the decedent; the person to receive the recorded will; and the fiduciary-duty acknowledgment. A will-named executor may omit heir names and addresses unless the court requests them.

The KRS § 395.015 appointment filing also includes a separate general financial disclosure, signed and dated under oath or the permitted perjury declaration. It estimates known estate property and is filed under seal. This is not the later public inventory; it is a confidential opening disclosure.

The will must be presented before or at appointment. If a custodian does not produce it, KRS § 394.160 lets District Court compel production. Kentucky's electronic-will act applies to the will of a decedent dying on or after July 15, 2026 under KRS § 394.715. A qualifying electronic will is a will for all Kentucky-law purposes under KRS § 394.702, and KRS § 394.712 permits an individual to certify a complete, true, and accurate paper copy under penalty of perjury.

Proof and self-proof

KRS § 394.225(4) lets a self-proved will enter probate without testimony from a subscribing witness. A will that is not self-proved does not get that shortcut.

When an attesting witness is out of state, confined elsewhere, unable to attend because of illness, age, or infirmity, or more than fifty miles away, KRS § 394.230 permits deposition proof. If ordinary witness proof is unavailable, KRS § 394.235 permits in-person or deposition testimony from at least two credible disinterested witnesses who recognize the testator's handwriting, or other sufficient handwriting proof. The court may require additional pertinent evidence.

Summons, hearing, and notice

District Court may probate or reject a will without summoning anyone under KRS § 394.220. The person offering the will may ask the clerk to summon interested people under § 394.170, and the court may also choose a hearing for the fiduciary application.

KRS § 395.015 requires an appointment hearing in specified administrator-with- will-annexed disputes, subject to its waiver route, and otherwise gives the court discretion after reviewing the filings and will. When a hearing is ordered, KRS § 395.016 requires written notice of its time, place, and purpose at least five days beforehand. Proof is a certified-mail return receipt or the applicant's compliant mailing declaration, filed at the hearing. Capable parties entitled to notice may waive it in writing.

Executor, bond, oath, and letters

KRS § 395.005 permits an adult Kentucky resident, listed qualifying financial institution, or related adult nonresident to serve, subject to the statute's other restrictions. Under KRS § 395.020, the executor named in the will cannot act until the will or an authenticated copy is admitted, any required bond is presented, and the executor takes the oath or files the permitted declaration.

No surety bond is now the KRS § 395.130 statutory default. The court must require one for a public administrator or curator and may require one when needed to protect all estate interests. The court may consider the will's direction and the representative's experience but is not bound by the will's bond language.

Appointment becomes effective under KRS § 395.105 when the judge signs the order, any required bond is presented, and the KRS § 395.120 oath is administered or declaration filed. The fiduciary must receive letters of appointment before beginning administration.

What trips people up

• Ten years limits original administration, not every probate-only filing. KRS § 395.010 makes an original grant of administration after ten years from death void. Chapter 394 does not state a separate numeric limit for admitting the will alone.
• A hearing is not automatic. The court may probate without summons, while KRS 395.016's five-day notice operates only when a hearing is ordered.
• The bond default changed in 2026. Current KRS 395.130 starts with no bond, but the court retains power to order security needed to protect the estate.
• Electronic-will treatment depends on the death date. The new act applies only when the decedent dies on or after July 15, 2026.
• Will-return mechanics are still changing. The two-year return framework starts for wills recorded on or after January 1, 2027; court-clerk fee and tax collection starts January 1, 2028.

Common questions

What if the person holding the will refuses to file it?

KRS 394.160 lets any District Court that learns of the custody summon the holder and use proper process to compel production.

May the nominated executor do anything before appointment?

Only a narrow set of protective acts. KRS 395.020 permits the nominee to arrange burial, pay reasonable funeral expenses, and care for and preserve the estate, but not otherwise act as executor before probate and qualification.

Statutes and sources

• KRS §§ 394.140-.145 — District Court venue, verified probate application, spouse/heir fields, and combined appointment. Official § 394.140 and official § 394.145 (accessed 2026-08-08).
• KRS §§ 394.160-.170, 394.220, 394.225, 394.230, and 394.235 — production, summons, no-summons probate, self-proof, depositions, and unavailable-witness proof. Official § 394.160, official § 394.220, and official § 394.225 (accessed 2026-08-08).
• KRS §§ 394.300, 394.702, 394.712, and 394.715 — recording and phased return, electronic-will effect, certified paper copies, and applicable death date. Official § 394.300, official § 394.702, and official § 394.712 (accessed 2026-08-08).
• KRS §§ 395.005, 395.010, and 395.015-.016 — eligibility, ten-year administration limit, appointment application, sealed disclosure, hearing, and notice. Official § 395.005, official § 395.015, and official § 395.016 (accessed 2026-08-08).
• KRS §§ 395.020, 395.105, 395.120, and 395.130 — preappointment limits, order, letters, oath/declaration, and bond. Official § 395.020, official § 395.105, and official § 395.130 (accessed 2026-08-08).