Small estate checker for Kentucky

Enter the date of death and what the person owned. The page adds what the state counts and compares it with the limit for that date. It does not decide anything.

Worked out in your browser. Nothing you enter here is saved or sent.

The limit is picked from the date of death.

after subtracting liens

after subtracting liens

after subtracting liens

after subtracting liens

after subtracting liens

after subtracting liens

after subtracting liens

after subtracting liens

after subtracting liens

after subtracting liens

after subtracting liens

after subtracting liens

Enter the date of death and the values you know

Leave a box empty if the person had nothing of that kind. We add up only what the state counts.

The limits this checker uses

These come from the state's law as we checked it. The checker picks the row that matches the date of death you enter.

Petition to Dispense with Administration (KRS 395.455; form AOC-830)

Date of deathLimit
On or after July 15, 2020
$30,000
On or before July 14, 2020
$15,000

Also in Kentucky (not tested here)

These procedures have their own rules, so the checker does not test them. See the state page.

  • Surviving spouse's exemption and bank withdrawal (KRS 391.030)

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 propertyHow it is treatedDetails
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

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 deathLimit
On or after July 15, 2020
$30,000
On or before July 14, 2020
$15,000

The 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
  1. List the person's probate assets and their values.
  2. Gather receipts for funeral and other preferred claims you paid.
  3. Fill in form AOC-830 and sign it before a notary; attach any AOC-831 waivers.
  4. File it with the District Court clerk in the county where the person lived and pay the court costs.
  5. 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

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

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.

Related pages

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.