Title XXXIV, Descent, Wills, and Administration of Decedents' Estates

When a person having right or title to any real estate or inheritance dies intestate as to such estate, it shall descend in common to his or her kindred, male and female, in the following order, except as otherwise provided in this chapter: (1) (a) To his or her surviving spouse …

(1) When a person dies intestate and without issue, owning real estate of inheritance which is the gift of either of his parents, the parent who made the gift, if living, shall inherit the whole of such estate. (2) If a person under the age of eighteen (18) dies without issue, ha…

children -- Withdrawal of money from bank by surviving spouse. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, where any person dies intestate as to his or her personal estate, or any part thereof, the surplus, after payment of funeral expenses, charges of administration, and d…

maintenance of child. (1) A parent who has willfully abandoned the care and maintenance of his or her child shall not have a right to intestate succession in any part of the estate and shall not have a right to administer the estate of the child, unless: (a) The abandoning parent…

by intestate succession. (1) If real or personal property passes by the laws of intestate succession, or under a will to a beneficiary not named in the will, proceedings may be had in the District Court to determine the persons entitled to the property. (2) (a) If an estate is in…

When any or all of a class first entitled to inherit are dead, leaving descendants, such descendants shall take per stirpes the share of their respective deceased parents.

Collaterals of the halfblood shall inherit only half as much as those of the wholeblood, or as ascending kindred, when they take with either.

When title is acquired by descent, it shall be no bar to a person taking title through descent that any ancestor through whom he derives his descent from the intestate is or has been an alien.

A child born of a widow, within ten (10) months after the death of the intestate, shall inherit from him in the same manner as if he were in being at the time of the intestate's death.

wedlock. The issue of all illegal or void marriages is considered as if born in lawful wedlock.

out of wedlock. (1) For the purpose of intestate succession, if a relationship of parent and child must be established to determine succession by, through, or from a person, a person born out of wedlock is a child of the natural mother. That person is also a child of the natural …

No tenant in common shall have any privilege over another in any election, division or matter to be done or made, concerning lands which have descended to them.

Whenever any person entitled to an annuity dies within the year, and before the annuity is fully earned, the heirs or personal representative of that person may recover such proportion of the entire amount of the annuity as the time of the year already elapsed at the date of the …

(1) Any real or personal property or money, given or devised by a parent or grandparent to a descendant, shall be charged to the descendant or those claiming through him in the division and distribution of the undevised estate of the parent or grandparent. The person to whom the …

Contributions shall take place between heirs and distributees on the same principles as between co-obligors.

(1) If (a) A devise, bequest, or conveyance of real or personal property is made by written instrument free of any trust; and (b) By the express terms of the instrument or by rule of law the devise, bequest or conveyance is made to a life tenant with power to consume principal or…

(1) The General Assembly recognizes that a person has property rights in his name and likeness which are entitled to protection from commercial exploitation. The General Assembly further recognizes that although the traditional right of privacy terminates upon death of the person…

KRS 391.210 to 391.260 applies to the disposition at death of the following property acquired by a married person: (1) All personal property, wherever situated: (a) Which was acquired as or became, and remained, community property under the laws of another jurisdiction; or (b) Al…

In determining whether KRS 391.210 to 391.260 applies to specific property the following rebuttable presumptions apply: (1) Property acquired during marriage by a spouse of that marriage while domiciled in a jurisdiction under whose laws property could then be acquired as communi…

Upon death of a married person, one-half (1/2) of the property to which KRS 391.210 to 391.260 applies is the property of the surviving spouse and is not subject to testamentary disposition by the decedent or distribution under the laws of succession of this Commonwealth. One-hal…

If the title to any property to which KRS 391.210 to 391.260 applies was held by the decedent at the time of death, title of the surviving spouse may be perfected by an order of the probate court or by execution of an instrument by the personal representative or the heirs or devi…

If the title to any property to which KRS 391.210 to 391.260 applies is held by the surviving spouse at the time of the decedent's death, the personal representative or an heir or devisee of the decedent may institute an action to perfect title to the property. The personal repre…

If a surviving spouse has apparent title to property to which KRS 391.210 to 391.260 applies, a purchaser for value or a lender taking a security interest in the property takes his interest in the property free of any rights of the personal representative or an heir or devisee of…

KRS 391.210 to 391.260 does not affect rights of creditors with respect to property to which KRS 391.210 to 391.260 applies.

KRS 391.210 to 391.260 does not prevent married persons from severing or altering their interests in property to which KRS 391.210 to 391.260 applies.

KRS 391.210 to 391.260 does not authorize a person to dispose of property by will if it is held under limitations imposed by law preventing testamentary disposition by that person.

KRS 391.210 to 391.260 shall be so applied and construed as to effectuate the general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of KRS 391.210 to 391.260 among those states which enact it.

KRS 391.210 to 391.260 may be cited as the Uniform Disposition of Community Property Rights at Death Act.

As used in KRS 391.305 to 391.360, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) "Account" means a contract of deposit of funds between a depositor and a financial institution, and includes a checking account, savings account, certificate of deposit, share account and other like arr…

institutions. The provisions of KRS 391.310 to 391.320 concerning beneficial ownership as between parties, or as between parties and P.O.D. payees or beneficiaries of multiple-party accounts, are relevant only to controversies between these persons and their creditors and other s…

(1) A joint account belongs, during the lifetime of all parties, to the parties in proportion to the net contributions by each to the sums on deposit, unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intent. (2) A P.O.D. account belongs to the original payee during hi…

(1) (a) Sums remaining on deposit at the death of a party to a joint account belong to the surviving party or parties to the account as against the estate of the decedent unless there is clear and convincing written evidence of a different intention at the time the account is cre…

The provisions of KRS 391.315 as to rights of survivorship are determined by the form of the account at the death of a party. This form may be altered by written order from any party able to request present payment without the joinder of any other party given to the financial ins…

Any transfers resulting from the application of KRS 391.315 are effective by reason of the account contracts involved and this statute and are not to be considered as testamentary.

Financial institutions may enter into multiple-party accounts to the same extent that they may enter into single-party accounts. Any multiple-party account may be paid, on request to any one (1) or more of the parties. A financial institution shall not be required to inquire as t…

Any sums in a joint account may be paid, on request, to any party without regard to whether any other party is incapacitated or deceased at the time the payment is demanded; but payment may not be made to the personal representative or heirs of a deceased party unless proof of de…

Any P.O.D. account may be paid, on request, to any original party to the account. Payment may be made, on request, to the P.O.D. payee or to the personal representative or heirs of a deceased P.O.D. payee upon presentation to the financial institution of proof of death showing th…

Any trust account may be paid, on request, to any trustee. Unless the financial institution has received written notice that the beneficiary has a vested interest not dependent upon his surviving the trustee, payment may be made to the personal representative or heirs of a deceas…

Payment made pursuant to KRS 391.330 to 391.345 discharges the financial institution from all claims for amounts so paid whether or not the payment is consistent with the beneficial ownership of the account as between parties, P.O.D. payees, or beneficiaries, or their successors.…

Without qualifying any common law or any other statutory right to set-off or lien and subject to any contractual provision, if a party to a multiple-party account is indebted to a financial institution, the financial institution has a right to set-off against the account in which…

(1) A written provision for a nonprobate transfer on death in an insurance policy, contract of employment, bond, mortgage, promissory note, certified or uncertified security account agreement, custodial agreement, deposit agreement, compensation plan, pension plan, individual ret…

All the sections of this chapter, except KRS 392.100, that relate to the wife's dower or interest in the deceased husband's estate, shall apply in all cases, so far as may be, to the husband's interest in the wife's estate.

"curtesy" defined -- Surplus personalty and surplus real estate. (1) (a) After the death of the husband or wife intestate, the survivor shall have, in addition to his or her share under KRS 391.010, an estate for his or her life in one-third (1/3) of any real estate of which the …

If the deceased spouse, during the coverture, was seized in law of the fee simple of any real estate, then the surviving spouse may have dower or curtesy in that real estate, although the deceased spouse never had actual possession.

(1) The surviving spouse shall not have dower or curtesy in land sold but not conveyed by the deceased spouse before marriage, nor in land sold in good faith after marriage to satisfy an encumbrance created before marriage or created by deed in which the surviving spouse joined, …

The surviving spouse shall be entitled, from the time of the deceased spouse's death until dower or curtesy is assigned, to such share of the rents and profits of the deceased spouse's real estate as is equal to the surviving spouse's share in the real estate itself, under KRS 39…

Where the lands are not severally held by different devisees or purchasers, dower need not be assigned out of each separate portion, but an equitable allotment may be made in one (1) or more parcels in lieu of the whole.

Rents. When a surviving spouse recovers dower or curtesy against the heir or devisee or purchaser from the decedent, the dower or curtesy shall be according to the value of the estate when received by the heir, devisee or purchaser, and shall not include, in the estimated value, …

Share of the surviving spouse in such case -- When devise or bequest is in addition to dower or curtesy. (1) (a) When a husband or wife dies testate, the surviving spouse may, though under full age, release what is given to him or her by will, if any, and receive his or her share…

(1) Absolute divorce bars all claim of either husband or wife to the property, real and personal, of the other after his or her decease. (2) If either spouse voluntarily leaves the other and lives in adultery, the offending party forfeits all right and interest in and to the prop…