Probate Shortcuts in Kentucky

The probate process can be long and drawn out, costing your survivors time as well as money. Fortunately, Kentucky offers a few probate shortcuts for "small estates." If your estate qualifies, your loved ones can save time, money, and hassle.

When Can You Use Simplified Probate in Kentucky?

You can use a simplified small estate process in Kentucky in several different situations:

1. when you are claiming property worth $30,000 or less and have a qualifying relationship with the deceased person
2. when the personal representative is the sole beneficiary
3. when the beneficiaries agree to informal probate, or
4. when the interested parties agree to skip formal probate.

You Are Claiming $30,000 of Property or Less

You can skip court proceedings and "dispense with administration" if you are transferring personal property that doesn't exceed $30,000 and:

• you are the surviving spouse
• you are a child of the deceased person and there is no surviving spouse, or
• you are a creditor, owed money from the estate.

(Ky. Rev. Stat. § 391.030 (2024).)

Note that not all creditors are eligible. Kentucky law establishes an order of priority for who can use this process, and surviving spouses take precedence. Among multiple creditors, there's also an order of priority, set out in Kentucky's law on preferred creditors.

To use this process, you'll file a Petition to Dispense With Administration (Form AOC-830) with the local probate court. When the court enters an order approving the petition, you'll be able to claim the property described in the petition. No further court procedures are needed.

The Personal Representative Is the Only Inheritor

If the probate court has appointed you as the personal representative (tasked with settling the estate), you can apply for informal settlement of the estate if:

• you're the sole beneficiary (inheritor) of the estate, and
• six months have passed since your appointment as personal representative.

(Ky. Rev. Stat. § 395.605 (2024).)

You'll need to apply by swearing under oath to the following:

• the estate was solvent
• all legal claims and debts have been taken care of
• inheritance, estate, or similar death taxes have been paid
• all court costs have been paid
• the name of your attorney, if any, and the amount of the attorney's fee, and
• that you have received your share of the estate.

(Ky. Rev. Stat. § 395.605 (2024).)

Once your application is approved, you won't need to jump through the hoops of regular probate. The personal representative won't be required to give notice to any parties, and the court isn't required to ask about the estate's income or disbursements. (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 395.605 (2024).)

The Beneficiaries Agree to Informal Probate

A court also can use the above informal probate process if every beneficiary agrees in a notarized writing to use informal probate. Before signing the notarized waiver of formal probate, the beneficiaries may request an accounting of the estate's assets. (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 395.605 (2024).)

Everyone Agrees to Dispense With Administration

You can also skip probate if all beneficiaries agree to do so and:

• there was no will
• the estate doesn't owe debts,
• no one owes the estate money or the beneficiaries agree in writing to designate a trustee to collect money owed to the estate, and
• anyone entitled to property agrees in writing that there will be no probate.

In this case, you'll need to file a motion in the local probate court, along with a written agreement signed by all beneficiaries and notarized. You'll need to give notice to potential creditors by posting an ad on the courthouse door for six weeks. (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 395.470 (2024).)

For More Information

For more help handling an estate in general, see The Executor's Guide, by Mary Randolph (Nolo). For an introduction to how you can plan your estate to help your survivors, try Estate Planning Basics, by Denis Clifford (Nolo).

For more on Kentucky estate planning issues, see our section on Kentucky Estate Planning.