Kentucky Probate and Intestate Succession: What Happens Without a Will (2026)

Kentucky probate runs through the District Court under KRS Chapter 395. A major reform, Senate Bill 50 (2026 Ky. Acts ch. 134), replaced Kentucky's old intestate spousal-share formula effective July 15, 2026, and Kentucky remains one of only five states that still taxes inheritances directly.

Information last verified on 2026-07-16. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

How Probate Works in Kentucky

Kentucky has no separate, statewide probate court. Probate matters are handled by the District Court in the county where the decedent lived, under KRS Chapter 395, Administration of Estates. Kentucky did not adopt the Uniform Probate Code and instead retains its own historic descent-and-distribution and administration scheme that predates the UPC movement.

Regular administration under KRS Chapter 395 involves the District Court appointing a personal representative, who then gathers assets, pays debts, and distributes what remains under court oversight. For small or debt-free estates, Kentucky offers a simplified alternative called "dispense with administration," set out in KRS 395.450, 395.455, and 395.470. Under this procedure, the District Court awards assets directly to the surviving spouse, children, or certain preferred creditors without ever appointing a personal representative or opening full administration. It is available in two situations: where all beneficiaries agree in writing, under penalty of perjury, that there shall be no further administration, available for both testate and intestate estates with no debts owing (KRS 395.470), or where the court finds that the KRS 391.030 spousal or family exemption, alone or together with preferred claims already paid, equals or exceeds the estate's distributable assets (KRS 395.455). If the beneficiaries write the KRS 395.470 agreement themselves, PDFelement is optional paid software for turning a word-processor draft into a PDF and editing it; the agreement is made under penalty of perjury, signing it electronically does not make it valid on its own, and the District Court decides whether to accept it.

Intestate Succession in Kentucky: Who Inherits Without a Will

Kentucky significantly overhauled its intestate succession law through Senate Bill 50 (2026 Ky. Acts ch. 134), effective for deaths on or after July 15, 2026. Because that date has already passed, the rule described below is Kentucky's current law for essentially any death going forward. An older dower-and-curtesy-only formula, which did not distinguish shared from non-shared children, governed deaths before July 15, 2026.

Under amended KRS 391.010(1)(a), a surviving spouse's share now depends on whether the decedent's descendants are also the surviving spouse's descendants, a distinction Kentucky's old law never made. The surviving spouse takes the entire estate if the decedent has no surviving descendants, or if every surviving descendant is also a descendant of the surviving spouse. If the decedent has one or more descendants who are not also the surviving spouse's descendants, or if the surviving spouse has descendants of their own from outside the marriage in addition to descendants shared with the decedent, the surviving spouse's share drops to one-half, with the remaining half passing to the decedent's descendants.

Whatever does not pass to the surviving spouse under this rule descends first to the decedent's children and their descendants; if none survive, to the decedent's parents; if none survive, to siblings and their descendants; and, absent any of those, splits in equal moieties between the paternal and maternal sides, reaching grandparents, then aunts and uncles and their descendants, then, as a new addition under the 2026 reform, the decedent's stepchildren, before finally escheating to the state.

Amended KRS 392.020 still uses the terms "dower" and "curtesy," but its role has narrowed. On top of the KRS 391.010 share described above, a surviving spouse also receives a life estate, not outright ownership, in one-third of any real estate the decedent held during the marriage but no longer owned at death, plus an absolute one-half share of the decedent's "surplus personalty," a newly defined category reaching certain beneficiary-designated, payable-on-death, and jointly held property. The old rule giving a spouse fee-simple ownership of half the real estate owned at death is gone; that function is now handled by the KRS 391.010 share above.

Kentucky is not a community-property state; its spousal-share rules operate independently of any community-property concept.

One way to make sure your property goes to the people you actually choose, rather than following Kentucky's intestate succession order, is to have a valid will in place. recordinglaw.com's free Kentucky Last Will and Testament Generator can help you create one, with no account required.

Small Estate and Simplified Probate in Kentucky

Kentucky's "dispense with administration" procedure under KRS 395.455 is the state's small-estate mechanism. Multiple secondary sources consistently report the threshold at $30,000 in personal property, a figure tied to the KRS 391.030 exemption that sets aside $30,000 in personal property or bank funds for the surviving spouse (or, if there is no surviving spouse, the children) before the rest of the estate is distributed. KRS 391.030 also provides a separate, smaller $2,500 emergency bank-withdrawal allowance that a spouse or family member can access pending the full $30,000 set-aside, which can help cover immediate expenses while the estate is still being opened. For thresholds, waiting periods and forms, see our guide to the Kentucky small estate affidavit.

Where dispense-with-administration applies, the District Court can award the estate's personal property directly to the spouse, children, or certain preferred creditors without appointing a personal representative or opening a full administration case, substantially shortening the process for smaller, debt-free Kentucky estates.

Creditors still face a defined deadline. Under KRS 396.011, as reset by 2021 legislation, creditors have six months from the date a personal representative is appointed to present claims against the estate. If no personal representative is ever appointed, for example because the estate uses dispense-with-administration, creditors instead get two years from the date of death to present a claim.

Does Kentucky Have an Inheritance Tax?

Yes. Kentucky is one of only five states that currently levies its own inheritance tax, alongside Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and Kentucky has no separate state estate tax. The tax is imposed on the beneficiary based on their relationship to the decedent, under KRS 140.070 and 140.080, and Kentucky's Department of Revenue groups beneficiaries into three classes.

Class A beneficiaries are fully exempt from Kentucky inheritance tax. KRS 140.070(1) names a parent, surviving spouse, child by blood, stepchild, child adopted during infancy, child adopted during adulthood who was reared by the decedent during infancy, a grandchild who is the issue of any of those children, siblings (including half-siblings), and, since a 2026 amendment, nieces and nephews (including half-nieces and half-nephews). Stepchildren are Class A by statute, so a stepchild you never legally adopted still takes free of Kentucky inheritance tax. Effective April 27, 2026 and applied retroactively to deaths on or after January 1, 2026 (2026 Ky. Acts ch. 198, sec. 40), nieces and nephews moved out of Class B and into Class A. Class B beneficiaries now consist of daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, aunts, uncles, and great-grandchildren (grandchildren of a child by blood, stepchild, or child adopted during infancy), who receive a $1,000 exemption and are taxed at rates from 4% to 16% on the value they receive above that exemption. Class C beneficiaries, meaning all other beneficiaries, including cousins and unrelated persons, receive a smaller $500 exemption and are taxed at rates from 6% to 16% on the amount above that exemption.

A claim circulated on several secondary and aggregator websites in 2025 that Kentucky was about to make the old Class B (which then included nieces and nephews) fully tax-exempt effective January 1, 2026 through House Bill 726. That specific bill died in committee on March 28, 2025 and was never enacted. Separately, and through a different mechanism, the legislature did amend KRS 140.070 in 2026 (2026 Ky. Acts ch. 198, sec. 40, effective April 27, 2026, applying retroactively to deaths on or after January 1, 2026) to move nieces and nephews out of Class B and into the fully exempt Class A. The practical result for a niece or nephew inheriting from a death on or after January 1, 2026 matches what the failed 2025 bill would have produced, just reached through a different, later-enacted statute. Class B today is limited to daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, aunts, uncles, and great-grandchildren (grandchildren of a child by blood, stepchild, or child adopted during infancy), who remain subject to the $1,000 exemption with 4% to 16% rates described above.

The Kentucky inheritance tax return is due 18 months after the date of death, and the Department of Revenue offers a 5% discount on the tax owed if it is paid within 9 months of death, an incentive worth knowing about for any estate that includes Class B or Class C beneficiaries.

Do You Need a Probate Attorney?

A Kentucky estate that qualifies for dispense-with-administration under KRS 395.455, and involves only Class A beneficiaries, can often be handled without a lawyer. When the estate has Class B or Class C beneficiaries and a real inheritance tax calculation, a family dispute over the reformed intestate shares, a business interest, or a likely will contest, get a free case evaluation from a Kentucky probate lawyer on the administration and the inheritance tax return (attorney advertising). Because Kentucky's intestate framework changed substantively in 2026, a probate attorney can also help family members confirm which version of the law applies and exactly what they are entitled to.

For a broader look at how probate and intestate succession work across the country, see Probate by State.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about probate and intestate succession law in Kentucky as of the verification date above. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is not a substitute for advice from a probate attorney licensed in Kentucky, particularly for a contested estate, an estate involving Class B or Class C inheritance tax beneficiaries, a business interest, or a blended family. Figures, thresholds, and statutes change; verify current details directly against the Kentucky Revised Statutes or the Kentucky Department of Revenue before relying on any figure here.

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Last updated: 2026-07-16. Figures and statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-07-16.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What court handles probate in Kentucky?

The District Court, county by county, under KRS Chapter 395. Kentucky has no separate statewide probate court.

Does Kentucky have an inheritance tax in 2026?

Yes. Kentucky is one of five states with a state inheritance tax. Class A beneficiaries (spouse, parents, children, stepchildren, children adopted during infancy, grandchildren, siblings, and, since a 2026 amendment, nieces and nephews) are exempt. Class B beneficiaries (daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, aunts, uncles, and certain great-grandchildren) pay 4% to 16% above a $1,000 exemption. Class C beneficiaries pay 6% to 16% above a $500 exemption. Kentucky has no separate state estate tax.

Did Kentucky expand the Class B inheritance tax exemption in 2026?

The 2025 bill did fail: House Bill 726, which would have made the old Class B fully exempt, died in committee in March 2025 and was never enacted. But Kentucky's Class A did expand through a separate 2026 act. Effective April 27, 2026 and applied retroactively to deaths on or after January 1, 2026 (2026 Ky. Acts ch. 198, sec. 40), nieces and nephews moved from Class B into the fully exempt Class A under KRS 140.070. The remaining Class B (daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, aunts, uncles, and certain great-grandchildren) still pays 4% to 16% above a $1,000 exemption.

What is the small estate threshold in Kentucky?

Kentucky's dispense-with-administration procedure under KRS 395.455 is commonly reported at $30,000 in personal property, tied to the KRS 391.030 exemption set aside for the surviving spouse or children before the rest of the estate is distributed.

Who inherits if you die without a will in Kentucky?

For deaths on or after July 15, 2026, under reformed KRS 391.010, a surviving spouse takes the entire estate if there are no descendants or all descendants are shared with the spouse, and one-half if any descendant is not the spouse's. The spouse also receives a life estate in one-third of real estate held during the marriage and half of certain other property under KRS 392.020. Whatever does not pass to the spouse descends to children, then parents, then siblings, then more distant kindred.

Does Kentucky treat stepchildren differently in intestate succession?

Since the 2026 reform, whether a decedent's children are also the surviving spouse's children now directly changes the spouse's share under KRS 391.010. A legally adopted child inherits as a child. An unadopted stepchild does not inherit ahead of closer relatives, but the 2026 reform added stepchildren as a late-priority category, behind grandparents, aunts, and uncles, if no closer kindred survive. Inheritance tax works differently: KRS 140.070(1) lists a stepchild in Class A, so a stepchild who does receive property, whether by will, beneficiary designation, or intestacy, pays no Kentucky inheritance tax on it.

How long do creditors have to file a claim against a Kentucky estate?

Under KRS 396.011, creditors generally have six months from the appointment of a personal representative to present claims. If no personal representative is appointed, creditors instead have two years from the date of death.