Simplified route
$30,000
Surviving-spouse/children $30,000 exemption (KRS 391.030); dispensing with administration when exemption plus preferred claims cover the estate (KRS 395.455); waiting period not verified.
Eligibility and caveatsKentucky estate administration
Kentucky probate: rules, process, costs, executor fees and deadlines
Small-estate limit: $30,000
In Kentucky, estates up to $30,000 can use the small-estate route; executor pay is capped at 5% of the personal estate plus 5% of the income collected (KRS 395.150); and claims are due six months after the personal representative is appointed. Kentucky can dispense with administration entirely (KRS 395.455) when the surviving-spouse/children exemption (KRS 391.030, $30,000 of personal property) plus preferred claims cover the estate, in the District Court. Executor compensation is capped at 5% of the personal estate plus 5% of income collected (KRS 395.150). The county-clerk recording fee for a will is $33.00 (KRS 64.012); that schedule does not set the District Court's opening cost, so ask the court clerk for it.
Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Sources rechecked October 3, 2026. This page last revised .
Answer first
Kentucky simplified probate route
Up to $30,000; waiting period not verified. Source: KRS 391.030.
Surviving-spouse/children $30,000 exemption (KRS 391.030); dispensing with administration when exemption plus preferred claims cover the estate (KRS 395.455)No combined Kentucky probate total
The District Court where the estate is opened sets or collects the filing charge. KRS 395.150 caps executor pay without fixing it. Each side in full: Kentucky probate filing cost and Kentucky executor fees.
Screen a specific Kentucky estate with the calculators on the small-estate page and the executor-fee page, or compare states in the full estate navigator.
What the reviewed rules establish
Court cost
Varies locally
Set locally; ask the receiving court.
Filing-cost detailExecutor compensation
Court-reviewed
The statute caps compensation; the court sets the amount within it. Source: KRS 395.150.
Compensation detailCreditor deadline
Multiple triggers
KRS 396.011 (Kentucky Legislature (Kentucky Revised Statutes); reviewed August 9, 2026)
Timeline and creditor detailsStatutes read in full for Kentucky
Read on the enacting state’s own site, with the date each was read.
| Citation | What reading it established | Read on |
|---|---|---|
| KRS 64.012 | Kentucky prices a will by the page, and exempts it from the surcharge — court and filing cost note | 2026-09-17 |
| KRS 395.455, 395.470 | Kentucky has no small-estate dollar ceiling — it dispenses with administration instead — small estate route note | 2026-09-17 |
| KRS 395.150 | Kentucky’s 5% rule has stood unamended since 1942, and it taxes income separately — representative pay note | 2026-09-17 |
Kentucky decision map
The four facts that change the Kentucky route
Each Kentucky answer below links to the page that sets out its source.
| Question | Recorded Kentucky answer |
|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Surviving-spouse/children $30,000 exemption (KRS 391.030); dispensing with administration when exemption plus preferred claims cover the estate (KRS 395.455) |
| What property and basis count? | personal probate property only; gross value for this route. |
| What is the amount screen? | $30,000 |
| What is the time or deadline record? | No waiting-period number verified; creditor deadlines: separate clocks by triggering event |
| What does the cost record establish? | No single statewide amount is published here; confirm the receiving court's current schedule. |
| What does compensation use? | Statutory ceiling, measured on gross probate property. |
Limits and unresolved costs
- Kentucky's $33 under KRS 64.012 is the county clerk's fee to record a will or probate document, not the District Court's cost to open an estate. Ask the District Court clerk for the opening cost; this page gives none.
- Under KRS 396.011, creditor claims are barred six months after the personal representative is appointed, or two years after death if no one is appointed. The periods are stated in months and years, not converted into days.
- No Kentucky court forms page is linked: none had been confirmed as current as of August 9, 2026.
Continue
What Kentucky courts publish
Each link goes to the court’s own page and is checked before every release.
No Kentucky court document is linked here. The notes below state why, rather than leaving the absence unexplained.
Limits on court material
- Probate in Kentucky is heard in the District Court. No link to the Kentucky Court of Justice self-help and forms site (kycourts.gov) is listed because this site had not confirmed its current forms page as of August 9, 2026; open its Legal Forms page directly in a browser. The official Kentucky source quoted on this site is the Legislature’s statute portal (apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/), which is the primary-law source rather than a court forms hub.
Kentucky primary sources
Each rule on the Kentucky pages comes from one of these 5 sources; the citation opens the publisher’s own text. All were last rechecked October 3, 2026.
Simplified-procedure rule
KRS 395.455, Transfer of assets without administration.
Simplified-procedure rule
KRS 391.030, Descent of personal property; exemption.
Executor compensation rule
KRS 395.150, Compensation of representatives.
Court cost rule
KRS 64.012, Fees of county clerks.
Creditor deadline rule
KRS 396.011, Presentation of claims against estate; time limitations; exceptions.
Sources rechecked October 3, 2026: Kentucky source list · how sources are checked · report a correction