Probate Notice to Creditors and Claim Deadlines in Kentucky

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Separate publication from the claim clock

KRS 424.340 requires the probate-court clerk to publish at least monthly in the qualifying newspaper. The notice collects fiduciary appointments since the prior publication and gives the decedent or ward, fiduciary, appointment date, attorney, addresses, and creditor claim date.

The statute expressly says publication neither enlarges nor reduces the creditor's timely-presentation obligation. KRS 396.011 therefore controls the claim clock independently: six months after the representative's appointment.

Do not import the repealed actual-notice rule

The current official page for KRS 396.012 says it was repealed effective June 29, 2021. Its former catchline concerned clerk publication and actual notice by the representative. The current Chapter 396 provisions state no replacement known-creditor search checklist, direct-notice recipient class, or service- based original claim period.

The later notice of allowance or disallowance under KRS 396.055 is different. It concerns a claim already presented on time.

Present by delivery or court filing

Under KRS 396.015, a creditor may deliver or mail a written statement to the personal representative or file the prescribed statement with the court clerk. The filing route requires certification that a copy was given or mailed to the representative and counsel. Presentation occurs at the first of receipt by the representative or court filing.

The writing states the basis, claimant name and address, amount, later due date, contingent or unliquidated uncertainty, and security. An incorrect description of the last three does not invalidate presentation. A representative may later request an affidavit or other evidence under KRS 396.026.

Apply the six-month or two-year bar

KRS 396.011 bars ordinary predeath claims unless presented within six months after appointment. If no representative is appointed, the deadline is two years after death. An ordinary statute of limitations can bar the claim sooner.

KRS 396.045 protects a claim whose ordinary limitation would expire between death and six months afterward if the creditor presents it within six months after death. Proper presentment also counts as commencing an action for ordinary limitations purposes. That saving rule does not override a Chapter 396 bar.

Respond promptly to disallowance

A disallowed claim is barred to the disallowed extent unless the creditor sues within 60 days after mailing when the notice warns of the bar. For an unmatured, contingent, or unliquidated claim, the representative may consent or the court may act to avoid injustice to extend that suit period, but never beyond the applicable statute of limitations.

This extension concerns litigation after disallowance. It is not a general extension of the original six-month presentation period.

Preserve the named alternate routes

KRS 396.011 preserves security enforcement only to the extent of the security and liability proceedings only to the limits of insurance. It excludes claims of the United States, Kentucky, and state subdivisions from that section's bar.

For a surviving action pending at death, substitution of the representative or a motion for substitution counts as presentation under KRS 396.015.

What trips people up

The clerk publishes a claim date, but the publication date does not start or change the six-month appointment clock.

Kentucky briefly had a separate actual-notice statute. Relying on a 2020 guide without checking the current repeal page produces the wrong direct-notice rule.

Court filing is optional, but a creditor choosing it must certify that the representative and counsel received or were mailed a copy.

Common questions

Does a creditor always have two years after death?

No. The two-year rule applies where no personal representative has been appointed. Appointment starts the ordinary six-month period.

Must the original claim be sworn?

KRS 396.015 does not make verification part of every initial claim. KRS 396.026 allows the representative to request an affidavit or other satisfactory evidence afterward.

Does a secured creditor lose the collateral route?

No. KRS 396.011 preserves enforcement to the extent of the security.

Statutes and sources

• KRS 396.011, 396.012, 396.015, 396.045, and 396.055 — claims bar, repealed actual-notice section, presentation, limitations, and disallowance. Current official chapter begins at https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=51057 (accessed 2026-08-12).
• KRS 424.340 — monthly clerk publication and its non-effect on the claim obligation. Current official text: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=18272 (accessed 2026-08-12).