How to Apply for Probate (KY)

KY Application Process

There are several steps you must take to obtain the court's permission to represent and manage a KY estate.

1. Probate Application: In Kentucky, if the estate will go through probate, you have up to 10 years to submit a Petition Form AOC-805 to the probate court: see application details ↧
   • If you do not reside in KY, if you are not related to the decedent be sure to specify in your petition the person who has agreed to serve as your agent in the county (see Task: Out-of-state executor).
   • If there is no will, or the will does not name you as first choice among executors (still living), it will be helpful to attach a renunciation affidavit from anyone with equal or higher priority.
   • If there is a will, but you do not have a "self-proving affidavit" signed by the witnesses to the will, it may simplify the process if you can attach an affidavit signed by at least one witness to the original will signing, attesting to the fact that he or she was present when the decedent signed the will, he or she signed the will as a witness, and that everyone was of sound mind and not under any duress.
   • Save $$: If there is no will, or the will does not address the requirement for a probate bond, you may wish to avoid probate bond costs by attaching a waiver of surety from each person who will inherit (see Probate Bonds).
   • Include a draft Order (Form AOC-805.1) for the judge to sign.
   • Attach an official copy of the death certificate and the original will (if there is one).
   • Note that some forms and procedures vary a bit from county to county in Kentucky, and you should check with the local court.
   • See KY Rev Stat § 395.010 and KY Rev Stat § 395.015.
2. Notice of Probate: In Kentucky, if the estate will go through probate, you must provide advance notice of the initial probate hearing if all the following are true:
   • There is no will, or there is a will but the proposed executor does not have top priority
   • A surviving spouse is not the proposed executor, or has not nominated the proposed executor.
   • There is more than 1 resident heir-at-law entitled to be named executor.
   If the above conditions are all true, then you must mail a written notice to any surviving spouse and all heirs at least 5 days before the hearing (see KY Rev Stat § 395.015(2)), bringing an affidavit to court attesting that you made the required mailings (see KY Rev Stat § 395.016 for important details and exceptions).
3. Probate Hearing: The court will hold a hearing to officially consider and approve your application. Often this hearing is just a formality, and you may not need to attend at all.
4. Probate Bond: If required by the court, you must obtain a probate bond to protect the estate from any losses you may cause (up to a certain dollar amount). Requirements for such a bond can depend on jurisdiction, whether there is a will, size of estate, whether you reside in the same state, and other factors. See Probate Bonds for advice on how to potentially avoid the need fo such a bond.
5. Objections: Note that interested parties have the right to legally challenge your application (before your official appointment, or even afterwards).
6. Letters: Once the court approves your application, you will receive your "Letters", which are certified documents you can use to prove your authority to third parties. If you applied for "probate", you will officially be known as the "executor" of the estate. If instead you applied for "administration", you will be known as the "administrator". Many states also use the term "personal representative" to cover both cases, sometimes deprecating the uses of the more precise terms.

If you'd like, friendly and experienced EstateExec personnel can fill out your probate application forms for you: see Probate Form Service. If you just want answers to a few legal questions, you can talk to an experienced lawyer for a surprisingly modest fee – see Have a Question?

Court Location

It can sometimes be difficult to determine which court to use for a given estate. The particular type of court that oversees the probate process varies by state: it may be a dedicated probate court, a circuit court, a superior court, a general county court, or something else.

Note that real property must be probated in the state in which it is physically located, so you may need to go through probate in multiple states.

Next Steps

Once you have been officially appointed and granted your Letters, you can begin the bulk of the estate administration and settlement process, keeping in mind that you now have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the estate.

See our Complete Guide to Estate Settlement in KY for an overview of estate settlement in general, Probate for the court-supervised aspects of estate settlement in particular, and Timeline for an overview of tasks by time period.

If you are using EstateExec, it will automatically generate a list of detailed tasks for you to accomplish, based upon the particulars of your estate.

Additional Information

See also Becoming Estate Executor (i.e., Personal Representative).