Kentucky: Will Revocation and Revival Requirements

Requirements one by one

Governing law and scope

Kentucky's traditional revocation and revival provisions are KRS 394.080
through 394.100. The Commonwealth also now has a separate electronic-will
revocation section, KRS 394.708. Under KRS 394.715, the electronic act applies
to wills of decedents who die on or after July 15, 2026.

Later will, codicil, or writing

A traditional will or codicil, or any part, may be revoked by a subsequent will
or codicil. A separate revocation writing also works if it declares the intent
to revoke and is executed with the formalities required for a will.

For an electronic will, a subsequent will may revoke all or part expressly or
by inconsistency. The electronic section does not state a standalone informal-
writing route outside a subsequent will.

Physical or electronic revoking act

For a traditional will, KRS 394.080 lists cutting, tearing, burning,
obliterating, canceling, and destroying the will, codicil, or its signature with
revocatory intent.

For an electronic will, KRS 394.708 uses a broader “physical act” formulation
without listing particular acts. Clear and convincing evidence must establish
that the testator intended to revoke all or part and performed or directed the
act.

Act by another person

Another person may perform the traditional act in the testator's presence and
at the testator's direction. The section does not add a separate witness-count
or quantified proof standard.

For an electronic will, the testator must direct the other individual, who must
act in the testator's physical presence, and the clear-and-convincing standard
applies.

Partial revocation

Both regimes permit partial revocation. KRS 394.080 applies its later-
instrument, formal-writing, and physical-act routes to a will, codicil, or any
part. KRS 394.708 expressly permits an electronic will to revoke all or part of
a previous will and permits all or part of the electronic will to be revoked.

Intent, proof, and presumptions

The traditional act requires revocatory intent but states no quantified
evidence standard. The formal revocation writing must declare an intention to
revoke and satisfy will-execution formalities.

Electronic physical-act revocation requires clear and convincing evidence of
the testator's intent and the act performed personally or by the directed
individual. The cited sections state no missing-original revocation presumption.

Divorce, annulment, and other family events

Marriage does not revoke a Kentucky will. Divorce or annulment, by contrast,
revokes will gifts and property appointments for the former spouse, powers of
appointment conferred on that spouse, and nominations of the spouse as
executor, trustee, conservator, or guardian, unless the will expressly provides
otherwise.

The affected provisions operate as if the former spouse failed to survive the
decedent. Remarriage to the former spouse revives provisions revoked solely by
KRS 394.092.

Revival after a later will or revoking act

Kentucky does not automatically revive the earlier will when the later one is
destroyed or revoked. KRS 394.100 says a revoked will, codicil, or part is
revived only by reexecution or by a codicil executed with the formalities
required for making a will.

Even then, revival extends only as far as the reexecution or codicil shows an
intent to revive.

Reexecution, republication, and codicil effect

This is Kentucky's exclusive restoration formula in the cited statute:
reexecute the revoked instrument or execute a qualifying codicil. Retaining the
old original, revoking the newer will, or making an informal declaration does
not satisfy KRS 394.100.

What trips people up

Kentucky now has two revocation regimes. The older paper statute lists six
specific acts and reaches the signature itself. The new electronic statute uses
the generic term “physical act,” requires clear and convincing evidence, and
requires physical presence when another individual acts.

Revival is stricter than revocation. A valid destructive act can revoke, but
undoing it requires formal reexecution or a properly executed codicil that
shows revival intent.

Common questions

Can a Kentucky testator revoke only part by crossing it out?

KRS 394.080 applies its physical-act route to any part of a traditional will or
codicil, but revocatory intent must be present. Electronic-will partial
revocation requires the separate clear-and-convincing proof described in
KRS 394.708.

Does marriage revoke a Kentucky will?

No. KRS 394.090 expressly says marriage does not revoke the will. Divorce or
annulment instead revokes the former-spouse provisions listed in KRS 394.092.

Does destroying the newer will restore the older one?

No. KRS 394.100 requires reexecution or a properly executed codicil and limits
revival to the intent shown by that formal act.

Statutes and sources

• KRS 394.080 — traditional later-instrument, formal-writing, and physical-
  act revocation. Official
  text
  (accessed 2026-08-01).
• KRS 394.090 — marriage does not revoke. Official
  text
  (accessed 2026-08-01).
• KRS 394.092 — divorce/annulment, former-spouse provisions, and
  remarriage. Official
  text
  (accessed 2026-08-01).
• KRS 394.100 — revival only by reexecution or a properly executed
  codicil. Official
  text
  (accessed 2026-08-01).
• KRS 394.708 — electronic-will revocation. Official
  text
  (accessed 2026-08-01).
• KRS 394.715 — applicability to decedents dying on or after July 15, 2026.
  Official
  text
  (accessed 2026-08-01).