Does my spouse automatically inherit everything if I die without a will in Kentucky?

No. Under KRS 392.020 a surviving spouse's guaranteed share is generally a fee interest in one-half of the surplus real estate owned at death and one-half of the surplus personal property, plus a $30,000 exemption under KRS 391.030. The remaining share passes under KRS 391.010 to children first, then to the decedent's parents, then to siblings. A spouse takes the whole estate only when none of those relatives survive.

Who inherits if I'm single with no children in Kentucky?

KRS 391.010 sends the estate to the decedent's father and mother; if no parent survives, to the decedent's brothers and sisters and their descendants; and then down the line to grandparents and more distant kindred. An unmarried partner is not in the statutory order and inherits nothing through intestacy.

What happens to my minor children's inheritance if I have no will?

Kentucky's intestate rules set the children's share, but minors cannot hold property directly, so a court generally must oversee how that share is managed until each child turns 18. A will is also where a parent names the guardian who would raise the children; without a will, the court decides who serves.

Can a will let me leave everything to my spouse?

A properly executed Kentucky will (KRS 394.040) lets a person direct who inherits, including leaving more — or all — to a spouse, subject to a surviving spouse's separate statutory right to renounce the will and claim a share (KRS 392.080). Without a will, the default split in KRS 391.010 and KRS 392.020 applies instead.

Do all of my assets pass under the intestate rules?

No. Assets with their own beneficiary designation — retirement accounts, life insurance, and payable-on-death accounts — and property held with a right of survivorship pass directly to the named person outside probate, regardless of the intestate rules or a will. Only assets titled in the decedent's name alone are governed by KRS Chapter 391.

How much does a Kentucky will cost through Bluegrass Cornerstone?

A simple Kentucky will is a flat $99, drafted on Kentucky law and reviewed by Durward Elton Johnson, KY Bar #101547, before delivery. This is general information about Kentucky law, not advice for an individual matter.

Kentucky intestacy · Guide

What happens if you die without a will in Kentucky? Intestate succession explained

If you die without a will in Kentucky, state law — not you — decides who inherits. Under Kentucky’s intestate succession rules (KRS Chapter 391) and the surviving-spouse "dower and curtesy" statute (KRS 392.020), a surviving spouse does not automatically receive everything: the spouse’s guaranteed share is generally a fee interest in one-half of the surplus real estate owned at death and one-half of the surplus personal property, plus a $30,000 exemption (KRS 391.030), while the rest passes to children first, then to parents, then to siblings (KRS 391.010). A validly executed Kentucky will (KRS 394.040) is what lets a person choose a different result. This page is general information about Kentucky law, not legal advice for an individual situation.

What "dying without a will" means in Kentucky

When a Kentucky resident dies without a valid will, the law calls it dying "intestate." Instead of the decedent’s own instructions controlling, a fixed set of statutes — Kentucky’s rules of descent and distribution in KRS Chapter 391, together with the surviving-spouse statute in KRS Chapter 392 — decides who receives the estate and in what proportions.

These rules apply to the "probate estate": assets that were titled in the decedent’s name alone with no built-in beneficiary or survivorship feature. They do not change who inherits assets that already pass outside probate, such as a retirement account or life-insurance policy with its own named beneficiary, or property held with a right of survivorship.

Two things surprise most Kentucky households. First, the rules are rigid — there is no room for "what they would have wanted." Second, in Kentucky the surviving spouse is not first in line for the whole estate.

Kentucky's surprise: a surviving spouse may not inherit everything

Many people assume that if they are married and die without a will, everything goes to their spouse. In Kentucky, that is usually not how it works.

Kentucky law splits a married person’s estate in two steps. First, the surviving spouse’s guaranteed share — historically called "dower" for a widow and "curtesy" for a widower, and merged into one gender-neutral interest by KRS 392.020 — comes off the top. Under KRS 392.020 that share is a fee (outright) interest in one-half of the surplus real estate the decedent owned at death, plus an absolute interest in one-half of the surplus personal property. (A narrower one-third life estate can also apply to real estate the decedent owned during the marriage but had parted with before death.) On top of that, KRS 391.030 sets apart a $30,000 exemption in personal property or money to the surviving spouse.

Second, everything beyond the spouse’s share — the other half — does not stay with the spouse. It passes down the order set in KRS 391.010, where the surviving spouse sits fourth, behind children, parents, and siblings.

Who inherits, and in what order

For real estate, KRS 391.010 directs the estate (after the spouse’s dower or curtesy share) to the decedent’s kindred in this order: first to children and their descendants; if there are none, to the decedent’s father and mother; if none, to the decedent’s brothers and sisters and their descendants; if none, to the surviving spouse; and only after that to grandparents and more distant kindred. KRS 391.030 distributes personal property to the same people in the same proportions.

So the surviving spouse takes the entire remaining estate by descent only when the decedent left no children, no surviving parents, and no siblings or their descendants. If any of those relatives survive, they share in the estate alongside the spouse.

One group is left out entirely: an unmarried partner. Kentucky has no civil-union statute, and a partner who is not legally married to the decedent is not in the KRS 391.010 order and inherits nothing through intestacy, no matter how long the couple lived together.

Why the result often isn't what people expect

A few common Kentucky situations show how far the default can drift from what a family assumes.

Married with children: the surviving spouse keeps the dower or curtesy share (generally about half) plus the $30,000 exemption, and the children — including minor children — split the rest. Because minors cannot hold property directly, a court generally has to oversee a child’s share until the child turns 18, which is slower and more public than a plan the parent set up in advance.

Married, no children, but a parent or sibling survives: the spouse takes the dower or curtesy half, and the decedent’s parents (or, if none, the decedent’s brothers and sisters) take the other half under KRS 391.010. A surviving spouse can end up co-owning the family home with in-laws.

Unmarried partner: under the intestate order the partner receives nothing. The same is true for stepchildren who were never adopted, and for friends or charities the decedent meant to remember. A will is the document that changes any of these outcomes.

How a Kentucky will changes the outcome

A will is the legal tool that lets a Kentucky resident choose a different result from the intestate default. KRS 394.040 sets the execution standard: the will must be signed at the end (or signed by someone else at the maker’s direction and in their presence) and witnessed by two people who sign in the maker’s presence and in the presence of each other. A will is also where a parent names a guardian for minor children and names the person who will settle the estate.

A will does not override everything, and it does not need to. Assets with their own beneficiary designation — retirement accounts, life insurance, payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts — pass directly to the named beneficiary outside probate. For a home, Kentucky has no statutory transfer-on-death deed; the probate-avoiding path is an attorney-drafted life-estate (Howell-pattern) deed.

Bluegrass Cornerstone, a service of Johnson Legal PLLC, offers a simple Kentucky will at a flat $99. Every document is drafted on Kentucky law and reviewed by Durward Elton Johnson, KY Bar #101547, before it is delivered.

When to talk to a Kentucky attorney

Most Kentucky households in a straightforward situation can address the intestacy problem with a simple will. A direct conversation with a Kentucky attorney tends to be worth it when the picture is more involved: a blended family, a child with special needs whose inheritance must be structured carefully, real property in more than one state, a family business or farm, or an estate large enough to raise tax questions.

Johnson Legal PLLC, the Kentucky law firm behind Bluegrass Cornerstone, handles these matters directly and only in Kentucky. This page is general information about Kentucky law, not legal advice for an individual matter, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Common questions

Does my spouse automatically inherit everything if I die without a will in Kentucky?: No. Under KRS 392.020 a surviving spouse's guaranteed share is generally a fee interest in one-half of the surplus real estate owned at death and one-half of the surplus personal property, plus a $30,000 exemption under KRS 391.030. The remaining share passes under KRS 391.010 to children first, then to the decedent's parents, then to siblings. A spouse takes the whole estate only when none of those relatives survive.
Who inherits if I'm single with no children in Kentucky?: KRS 391.010 sends the estate to the decedent's father and mother; if no parent survives, to the decedent's brothers and sisters and their descendants; and then down the line to grandparents and more distant kindred. An unmarried partner is not in the statutory order and inherits nothing through intestacy.
What happens to my minor children's inheritance if I have no will?: Kentucky's intestate rules set the children's share, but minors cannot hold property directly, so a court generally must oversee how that share is managed until each child turns 18. A will is also where a parent names the guardian who would raise the children; without a will, the court decides who serves.
Can a will let me leave everything to my spouse?: A properly executed Kentucky will (KRS 394.040) lets a person direct who inherits, including leaving more — or all — to a spouse, subject to a surviving spouse's separate statutory right to renounce the will and claim a share (KRS 392.080). Without a will, the default split in KRS 391.010 and KRS 392.020 applies instead.
Do all of my assets pass under the intestate rules?: No. Assets with their own beneficiary designation — retirement accounts, life insurance, and payable-on-death accounts — and property held with a right of survivorship pass directly to the named person outside probate, regardless of the intestate rules or a will. Only assets titled in the decedent's name alone are governed by KRS Chapter 391.
How much does a Kentucky will cost through Bluegrass Cornerstone?: A simple Kentucky will is a flat $99, drafted on Kentucky law and reviewed by Durward Elton Johnson, KY Bar #101547, before delivery. This is general information about Kentucky law, not advice for an individual matter.