Settle a small estate in Kentucky without probate
In Kentucky this is called: Petition to dispense with administration (transfer of assets without administration); surviving spouse's exemption. Kentucky has no small estate affidavit that you give straight to a bank. Instead, if the person's probate assets, minus preferred claims such as funeral costs, are worth no more than the $30,000 exemption for the surviving spouse (or, if none, the children), the District Court can order that no administration is needed and transfer the assets.
Up to $30,000 (deaths on or after July 15, 2020), filed with a court.
Checked against official sources: October 30, 2026.
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Free tools
Small estate checker
Add up the estate and compare it with the Kentucky limit for the date of death.
Balance request letter
Ask a bank or holder for the balance on the date of death.
What-to-gather checklist
Papers, steps, forms and fees for Kentucky, by procedure.
Car, bank, house in Kentucky
Car or other vehicle
Kentucky vehicle titles are handled by the county clerk using the Application for Kentucky Certificate of Title or Registration (TC 96-182).
Bank accounts
Accounts with a payable-on-death beneficiary or a surviving joint owner pass outside probate. For an account in the person's name alone, the bank needs a court paper: an order dispensing with administration, an order setting apart the spouse's exemption, or letters of a personal representative.
Related pages
Petition to Dispense with Administration (KRS 395.455; form AOC-830)
A short petition to the District Court. If the court grants it, the court orders that no estate needs to be opened and that the listed personal property, such as bank accounts and vehicles, be transferred to the surviving spouse, the children, or the person who paid the funeral and other preferred bills.
- Limit
Up to $30,000 (deaths on or after July 15, 2020) Counted after subtracting liens (what is owed on the property).
Date of death Limit On or after July 15, 2020$30,000On or before July 14, 2020$15,000The person's probate assets, minus the preferred claims paid (such as funeral and administration costs), can be worth no more than $30,000, the amount of the surviving spouse's or children's exemption. A person who has paid preferred claims can also use it if the assets are worth no more than the claims paid. Before July 15, 2020, the exemption was $15,000.
- What counts
The value of the person's probate assets, minus preferred claims that the spouse, children or petitioner paid (such as administration costs and funeral expenses), compared with the $30,000 spouse-and-children exemption. Alternatively, the assets cannot be worth more than the preferred claims the petitioner paid.
- Waiting period
The law sets no waiting period.
- Who can use it
The surviving spouse; if there is no spouse, the surviving children; or a person who paid preferred claims, or the assignee of those claims, if there is no spouse or the spouse or children waived the exemption. The court can order the assets transferred to a person the spouse designates.
- Court or where to file
The District Court of the county where the person lived (the court that would handle the estate).
- Notary
The petition is verified and sworn before a notary.
- Papers to attach
- Certified death certificate (the court clerk usually asks for it)
- List of the assets and their approximate values, with the VIN of any vehicle
- Receipts for the preferred claims paid, such as funeral bills
- Waivers (AOC-831) from other children or from the spouse, if needed
- The original will, if there is one and you ask the court to probate it at the same time
- Steps
- List the person's probate assets and their values.
- Gather receipts for funeral and other preferred claims you paid.
- Fill in form AOC-830 and sign it before a notary; attach any AOC-831 waivers.
- File it with the District Court clerk in the county where the person lived and pay the court costs.
- If the judge grants it, take certified copies of the order to the bank, the county clerk (for vehicles) and other holders.
- Fee
Court costs are charged when you file; ask the District Court clerk.
Law: KRS 395.450, 395.455, 391.030 (KRS 395.455 as amended by 2026 Ky. Acts ch. 134, effective July 15, 2026)
Source: Official page
Surviving spouse's exemption and bank withdrawal (KRS 391.030)
The surviving spouse (or, if none, the children) is entitled to have up to $30,000 of the person's personal property or money set apart by the District Court, free from distribution and sale. Before that, the spouse can ask the judge for an order to withdraw up to $2,500 from the person's bank account.
- Limit
Up to $30,000 (deaths on or after July 15, 2020)
Date of death Limit On or after July 15, 2020$30,000On or before July 14, 2020$15,000Up to $30,000 of personal property or money can be set apart for the surviving spouse, or for the children if there is no spouse. The spouse may withdraw up to $2,500 from a bank with a court order before the exemption is set apart. Before July 15, 2020, the exemption was $15,000.
- What counts
Personal property or money on hand or in a bank, up to the amount of the exemption.
- Waiting period
The law sets no waiting period.
- Who can use it
The surviving spouse; if there is no surviving spouse, the surviving children. The $2,500 bank withdrawal is for the surviving spouse only.
- Court or where to file
The District Court that has jurisdiction over the estate.
- Steps
- Ask the District Court for an order setting apart the exemption, choosing the personal property up to $30,000.
- If money is needed sooner, the spouse can petition the judge for an order allowing a bank withdrawal of up to $2,500.
- Give the order to the bank; the bank lodges it with the circuit clerk with the amount withdrawn.
- Fee
Ask the District Court clerk.
- What the bank or holder must do
On a court order, the bank must let the surviving spouse withdraw the sum ordered, up to $2,500.
Law: KRS 391.030
Source: Official page
What counts toward the limit in Kentucky
Add up the person's probate assets (property in the person's name alone that has no beneficiary or survivor). Subtract the preferred claims that were paid, such as funeral and administration costs. Compare the result with the $30,000 exemption.
Law: KRS 391.030, 395.455
In this state the total is counted after subtracting liens.
| Kind of property | How it is treated | Details |
|---|---|---|
Bank accounts in the person's name alone | Counts | Accounts in the person's name alone count. Law: KRS 395.455; form AOC-830 |
Joint or payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts | Left out | Accounts that pass to a payable-on-death beneficiary or a surviving joint owner are nonprobate transfers and are not listed as estate assets. Law: KRS 391.360; form AOC-830 |
Cars and other vehicles | Counts | Vehicles in the person's name count and are listed on the petition with their VIN. Law: Form AOC-830 |
Boats and mobile or manufactured homes | Not clear | The law does not separately address boats or mobile homes. Law: KRS 395.455 |
Real estate in Kentucky | Not clear | The petition lists personal property to be transferred. The law does not say how real estate is treated in this procedure; real estate passes to heirs under the inheritance law. Law: KRS 395.455, 391.010; form AOC-830 |
Main home (primary residence) | Not clear | The law does not say how the home is treated in this procedure. Law: KRS 395.455 |
Real estate in another state | Not clear | The law does not address property in other states. Law: KRS 395.455 |
Unpaid wages owed to the person | Counts | Money owed to the person is a probate asset and counts. Law: KRS 395.455 |
Military pay owed to the person | Not clear | The law does not separately address military pay owed to the person. Law: KRS 395.455 |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to a named person | Left out | Insurance, pension and retirement money paid to a named beneficiary is a nonprobate transfer and is not an estate asset. Law: KRS 391.360 |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to the estate | Counts | Insurance or retirement money payable to the estate is a probate asset and counts. Law: KRS 395.455 |
Property in a living trust | Left out | Property in a trust passes under the trust, not through probate. Law: KRS 391.360 |
Property owned jointly with right of survivorship | Left out | Property owned with right of survivorship passes to the surviving owner. Law: KRS 391.360; KRS 392.020(2)(b) |
Property going to a surviving spouse | Counts | Assets going to the surviving spouse count. The $30,000 limit is itself the spouse's (or children's) exemption, so it is not subtracted a second time. Law: KRS 391.030, 395.455(1), (4) |
Stocks, bonds and brokerage accounts | Counts | Stocks and bonds in the person's name alone, with no transfer-on-death beneficiary, count. Law: KRS 395.455 |
Furniture, jewelry and other belongings | Counts | Household goods and other belongings count at their value. Law: KRS 391.030, 395.455 |
Source: Official page
Car or vehicle title after a death in Kentucky
Kentucky vehicle titles are handled by the county clerk using the Application for Kentucky Certificate of Title or Registration (TC 96-182). For a person who died, the clerk needs court papers showing who may transfer the vehicle, such as the District Court order dispensing with administration (which lists the vehicle by VIN) or letters of a personal representative.
Law: KRS 395.455; form AOC-830; KYTC form TC 96-182
- Agency
- County clerk (Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Division of Motor Vehicle Licensing)
- Fee
The county clerk charges title and transfer fees.
Source: Official page
Bank accounts after a death in Kentucky
Accounts with a payable-on-death beneficiary or a surviving joint owner pass outside probate. For an account in the person's name alone, the bank needs a court paper: an order dispensing with administration, an order setting apart the spouse's exemption, or letters of a personal representative. A surviving spouse can get a court order to withdraw up to $2,500 from the person's account before the exemption is set apart.
Law: KRS 391.030, 391.360, 395.455
Source: Official page
Transfer-on-death (TOD) and payable-on-death (POD) in Kentucky
- Real estate (TOD deed)
No
Kentucky law does not provide a transfer on death deed. A 2026 bill to create one (Senate Bill 34) passed the Senate but did not pass the House. Real estate can pass outside probate by joint ownership with right of survivorship or a trust.
Law: 2026 Ky. SB 34
- Vehicle title (TOD)
No
Law: 2026 Ky. SB 34
- Bank account (POD)
Yes
Law: KRS 391.360
- Securities (TOD)
Yes
Law: KRS 391.360
Source: Official page
Surviving spouse in Kentucky
The surviving spouse (or, if none, the children) is entitled to $30,000 of personal property or money, set apart by the District Court free from distribution and sale; the spouse can get an order to withdraw up to $2,500 from a bank first. Where that exemption plus preferred claims equals or exceeds the assets, the court can dispense with administration. The spouse also has a dower or curtesy interest: an absolute one-half of the surplus personal property (which, for deaths on or after July 15, 2026, includes payable-on-death, beneficiary-designated and survivorship assets, but not life insurance) and a life estate in one-third of real estate owned during the marriage but not at death.
Debts of the person in Kentucky
Preferred claims, such as administration costs and funeral expenses, are paid first; a person who paid them can ask the court to transfer the assets to them. Personal property passing by intestacy is distributed only after funeral expenses, administration charges and debts are paid.
Law: KRS 396.095; KRS 391.030
Medicaid estate recovery in Kentucky
Medicaid asks the estate to repay costs for a person 55 or older who received nursing facility, ICF/IID or home and community-based waiver services, or a person who was in a nursing facility or ICF/IID for six months. Recovery is not done if there is a surviving spouse, a child under 21, or a blind or disabled child. It can also be waived for hardship, when the total assessed value is $10,000 or less, or when recovery is not cost effective. The estate representative must write to the Department with documentation to ask for a waiver. After the death, call the Third-Party Liability Branch.
Law: 907 KAR 1:585; DMS form MAP-708 (R 2/2019)
- Agency
- Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Department for Medicaid Services, Third-Party Liability Branch
- Phone
- (502) 564-4958
- Official page
- Official page
Who inherits with no will in Kentucky
For deaths on or after July 15, 2026: the surviving spouse inherits everything if the person left no descendants, or if all the person's descendants are also the spouse's and the spouse has no other descendants; otherwise the spouse inherits half. The rest, or everything if there is no spouse, goes to children and their descendants, then to parents, then to brothers and sisters and their descendants, then half to the father's side and half to the mother's side (grandparents, then aunts and uncles), then to stepchildren. The spouse also has the dower or curtesy share described above.
Law: KRS 391.010, 392.020 (as amended by 2026 Ky. Acts ch. 134, SB 50, effective July 15, 2026)
Source: Official page
Death certificates in Kentucky
Order by mail with form VS-31, by phone at (800) 241-8322, or online through VitalChek. A certified copy costs $6, and each additional copy is $6; phone and online orders add a card fee. The fee is a non-refundable search fee.
Law: Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics, form VS-31 (Rev. 12.20.2023)
- Where to get it
- Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics, 275 East Main Street 1E-A, Frankfort, KY 40621; (502) 564-4212
- Official page
- Official page
Where to file in Kentucky
The petition to dispense with administration (AOC-830) and a request to set apart the spouse's exemption are filed with the District Court clerk in the county where the person lived. Certified copies of the court's order are then given to banks, the county clerk (for vehicle titles) and other holders.
Good to know in Kentucky
- Kentucky has no small estate affidavit; the shortcut is a District Court order dispensing with administration when the assets, after preferred claims, do not exceed the $30,000 spouse-and-children exemption.
- For deaths on or after July 15, 2026, a surviving spouse inherits ahead of the person's parents and siblings.
- Kentucky has no transfer on death deed; a 2026 bill to create one was not enacted.
Changes in 2024–2026
2026 Ky. Acts ch. 134, signed April 13, 2026, effective July 15, 2026: rewrote intestate succession so the surviving spouse takes all or half of the estate ahead of parents and siblings; revised dower/curtesy so the spouse's one-half of surplus personalty includes POD, TOD, beneficiary-designated and survivorship assets (not life insurance); amended KRS 395.455 (dispensing with administration) and 395.470 (dispensing by agreement now available only after probate, appointment of a personal representative and advertisement for creditors). Form AOC-830 revised 1-26. SB 34 (2026, transfer on death deeds and vehicle TOD) passed the Senate but stalled in the House.
Law: SB 50; KRS 391.010; KRS 392.020
National rules that apply in every state
Federal estate tax
- For a person who died in 2026, a federal estate tax return (Form 706) is required only if the gross estate, plus certain lifetime taxable gifts, is more than $15,000,000.
- Most estates owe no federal estate tax and do not need to file a federal estate tax return.
Law: 26 U.S.C. 2010(c)(3) (as amended by Pub. L. 119-21)
The final income tax return
- Report all income up to the date of death and claim all eligible credits and deductions.
- Someone must file the final federal income tax return of a person who died, the same way it would have been filed if they were alive.
- To claim a refund due to the person who died, attach Form 1310 (Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer).
Law: Form 1310 instructions (Rev. December 2025)
Social Security
- Social Security retirement benefits are paid through the month before the month the person died.
- If the person had enough Social Security work credits (was fully or currently insured), a one-time death payment of $255 (or three times the person's basic benefit, if that is smaller) can be paid to a surviving spouse who lived with the person.
Law: 42 U.S.C. 402(a), 402(i)
Savings bonds
- If the person's savings bonds and other Treasury securities held directly with the Treasury are worth more than $100,000 at the date of death, the Treasury requires a court-administered estate.
Law: 31 CFR 353.71; FS Form 5336 (Rev. April 2026)
Debts
- Debts are generally paid from the money and property the person left (the estate).
- If the estate cannot pay a debt and no one else shared responsibility for it, the debt may go unpaid.
- You may have to pay if you co-signed the loan, were a joint account holder on a credit card (not just an authorized user), or state law makes a spouse responsible for certain debts, such as in community property states or states with laws on necessary costs like health care.
Law: 12 CFR 1006.6(a)(4)
A house with a mortgage
- For a home with fewer than five units, a lender may not call the whole loan due just because the home passes to a relative after the borrower's death, to a spouse or children who become owners, or to a surviving joint owner.
- Https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/how-do-i-get-mortgage-information-about-a-home-i-inherited-en-217/
- Https://www.consumerfinance.gov/ask-cfpb/i-recently-inherited-a-house-the-mortgage-lender-said-its-required-to-determine-my-ability-to-repay-before-it-will-let-me-take-over-the-mortgage-loan-is-this-true-en-1939/
Law: 12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d)(3), (5), (6); 12 CFR 1024.30(d), 1024.31
FDIC insurance on bank accounts
- After a deposit owner dies, FDIC insurance on the account stays the same for six months, unless the account is restructured.
Law: 12 CFR 330.3(j)
Medicaid estate recovery
- States must try to recover some Medicaid costs from the estate of a person who got benefits at age 55 or older: nursing facility services, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug services.
- The 'estate' includes at least the property in the person's probate estate under state law.
- Https://www.govinfo.gov/link/uscode/42/1396p?type=usc&year=mostrecent&link-type=html
Law: 42 U.S.C. 1396p(b)
Death certificates
- Certified copies of a death certificate come from the vital records office of the state where the death happened, not from the federal government.
Free help in Kentucky
A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.
- Kentucky Justice Online (legal aid information and help)
- Kentucky Bar Association: Lawyer Referral Services
- Kentucky Court of Justice: Legal Self-Help
- Kentucky Court of Justice: Legal Forms
- LawHelp.org
- Legal Services Corporation (LSC) - Find legal aid
- Eldercare Locator · 1-800-677-1116
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (debt collection and mortgage complaints) · (855) 411-2372
More help on our sister sites
Questions about small estates in Kentucky
What is a small estate affidavit called in Kentucky?
In Kentucky this is called: Petition to dispense with administration (transfer of assets without administration); surviving spouse's exemption. Kentucky has no small estate affidavit that you give straight to a bank. Instead, if the person's probate assets, minus preferred claims such as funeral costs, are worth no more than the $30,000 exemption for the surviving spouse (or, if none, the children), the District Court can order that no administration is needed and transfer the assets.
What is the small estate limit in Kentucky?
Up to $30,000 (deaths on or after July 15, 2020), filed with a court.
How long do I wait in Kentucky?
The law sets no waiting period.
Do I have to go to court in Kentucky?
The District Court of the county where the person lived (the court that would handle the estate).
How do I transfer a car after a death in Kentucky?
Kentucky vehicle titles are handled by the county clerk using the Application for Kentucky Certificate of Title or Registration (TC 96-182). For a person who died, the clerk needs court papers showing who may transfer the vehicle, such as the District Court order dispensing with administration (which lists the vehicle by VIN) or letters of a personal representative.
What happens to a bank account after a death in Kentucky?
Accounts with a payable-on-death beneficiary or a surviving joint owner pass outside probate. For an account in the person's name alone, the bank needs a court paper: an order dispensing with administration, an order setting apart the spouse's exemption, or letters of a personal representative.
Who inherits in Kentucky if there is no will?
For deaths on or after July 15, 2026: the surviving spouse inherits everything if the person left no descendants, or if all the person's descendants are also the spouse's and the spouse has no other descendants; otherwise the spouse inherits half.
Do I owe the person's debts in Kentucky?
Preferred claims, such as administration costs and funeral expenses, are paid first; a person who paid them can ask the court to transfer the assets to them. Personal property passing by intestacy is distributed only after funeral expenses, administration charges and debts are paid.