KY estate risk

Intestacy risk in Kentucky

How assets are distributed when there is no will and state default rules control the outcome.

Kentucky intestacy combines dower/curtesy rules with a separate descent order for real estate and personal property.

Who inherits first if there is no will?How do spouse and children shares change by scenario?What are the most common surprises families face?

At a glance

Key takeaways

A surviving spouse receives one-half of the surplus real estate owned at death and one-half of the surplus personal property.
Remaining real estate descends to descendants first, then parents, then siblings and more remote kindred in order.
Personal property follows the same descent order after expenses, with a $30,000 exemption set aside for the surviving spouse (or children if no spouse).
An heir must survive the decedent by 120 hours to inherit under intestacy.

Questions to consider

State overview

Kentucky intestacy combines dower/curtesy rules with a separate descent order for real estate and personal property.

A surviving spouse receives one-half of the surplus real estate owned at death and one-half of the surplus personal property.
Remaining real estate descends to descendants first, then parents, then siblings and more remote kindred in order.
Personal property follows the same descent order after expenses, with a $30,000 exemption set aside for the surviving spouse (or children if no spouse).
An heir must survive the decedent by 120 hours to inherit under intestacy.

Sources

Background sources

Uniform Probate Code (2019) - Intestate succession (Article II)
Article II, Part 1 covers intestate succession, spouse/descendant shares, and representation rules.

National sources provide baseline context; state statutes and court rules control in Kentucky.

How this connects