Bouldin Law Firm has practiced in Covington for more than 20 years and serves clients across Northern Kentucky and southwestern Ohio. Attorney Michael W. Bouldin, who grew up in Northern Kentucky, prepares wills, trusts, durable and health care powers of attorney and living wills, alongside the firm's criminal defense, family law and personal injury practice.
Erlanger is in Kenton County.
More Estate Law Firms in Kenton County
A Covington firm serving Kenton, Boone and Campbell counties, founded in 1895 and formerly Adams, Stepner, Woltermann & Dusing. Its probate attorneys handle estate and trust administration and take a named executor through opening probate, notifying heirs and creditors, the inventory, paying debts and taxes and distributing the estate. It also drafts wills and living trusts.
A Covington firm on Rivercenter Boulevard with a second office in Cincinnati, serving Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati. Its estate planning and probate lawyers help personal representatives conduct the inventory, pay creditors and taxes, disburse assets and work through disputes about the will. Its attorneys have served as county attorneys, city attorneys and master commissioners.
Covington firm serving Boone, Kenton, and Campbell counties in Northern Kentucky. It guides executors and trustees through probate and trust administration, alongside wills, trusts, estate tax and business succession planning. Founding attorney Shannon C. Smith holds the certified estate and trust specialist (CES) designation, and the firm offers a free case evaluation.
Kenton County firm on Buttermilk Pike in Crescent Springs, founded in 1947, practicing in the probate courts of Northern Kentucky and Southern Ohio. Its estate planning group handles estate and trust administration: applications for appointment of a personal representative, inventories, periodic and final accountings, inheritance tax returns and dispensing with administration where an estate qualifies.
Probate in Kenton County
Probate Court Record
Kenton County District Court
Kenton County · 16th Judicial District
Phone
Hours
Office
Website
E-filing
Self-represented filing
Self-help forms
How to file probate in Kenton County →
Verified October 15, 2026 · Source
Do I need a lawyer for probate in Kenton County? →Settling an estate in Kenton County →
Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in Kentucky
Free Kentucky forms to plan or settle an estate: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed and the probate forms. Prepare each form for Kentucky.
Revocable Living Trust
Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.
Last Will and Testament
In Kentucky, a will is signed before 2KRS 394.040Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimonyKRS 394.040Verified Oct 18, 2026View source.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
Kentucky allows a choice for a healthcare power of attorney: 2KRS 311.625Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses or a notary.
Financial Power of Attorney
Kentucky treats a power of attorney as durable by defaultKRS § 457.050Verified Sep 18, 2026View source, and it is signed with no witness or notary requirementKRS § 457.050Verified Oct 21, 2026View source.
Pour-Over Will
In Kentucky, a pour-over will is signed before 2KRS 394.040Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses and moves anything left outside the trust into it through probate.
Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in Kentucky
Free calculators and checklists to plan or settle an estate in Kentucky: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay and taxes. Run each tool for Kentucky.
Trust or Will: Which Costs Less?
In Kentucky, a will-based plan pays probate attorney fees of typically 1.5%Modeled estimate under Reasonable compensation; no probate-specific attorney fee statute (SCR 3.130-1.5(a) general rule): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 2.4%Modeled estimate under Reasonable compensation; no probate-specific attorney fee statute (SCR 3.130-1.5(a) general rule): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate; a funded revocable trust keeps those assets out of probate and off that fee.
Do I Need a Revocable Trust?
Probate in Kentucky takes 6 months to 12 months for a simple estate and charges attorney fees of typically 1.5%Modeled estimate under Reasonable compensation; no probate-specific attorney fee statute (SCR 3.130-1.5(a) general rule): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 2.4%Modeled estimate under Reasonable compensation; no probate-specific attorney fee statute (SCR 3.130-1.5(a) general rule): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate; assets held in a revocable trust skip both.
How Much Does Probate Cost?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Kentucky costs an estimated $23,308Reasonable compensation; no probate-specific attorney fee statute (SCR 3.130-1.5(a) general rule)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Attorney fees run 1.5%Modeled estimate under Reasonable compensation; no probate-specific attorney fee statute (SCR 3.130-1.5(a) general rule): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 2.4%Modeled estimate under Reasonable compensation; no probate-specific attorney fee statute (SCR 3.130-1.5(a) general rule): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate under a reasonable-compensation standard.
What Are the Estate Laws in My State?
Probate on a $500,000 estate in Kentucky costs an estimated $23,308Reasonable compensation; no probate-specific attorney fee statute (SCR 3.130-1.5(a) general rule)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source and takes 6 months to 12 months for a simple estate, with attorney fees of typically 1.5%Modeled estimate under Reasonable compensation; no probate-specific attorney fee statute (SCR 3.130-1.5(a) general rule): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source to 2.4%Modeled estimate under Reasonable compensation; no probate-specific attorney fee statute (SCR 3.130-1.5(a) general rule): the hours the statutory fee schedules imply, at the state's surveyed hourly rateVerified Sep 8, 2026View source of the estate. Estates under $30,000KRS 391.030Verified Sep 8, 2026View source can use a small-estate procedure instead.
How Do I Settle an Estate?
Settling an estate in Kentucky: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 90 daysKRS 395.250Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 6 monthsKRS 396.011, 396.015, 396.055, 396.095, 424.340Verified Oct 18, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 6 months to 12 months.
What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?
An attorney-prepared revocable trust in Kentucky runs $3,440Estimate: 10 hours at $344, Clio's Kentucky Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $5,160Estimate: 15 hours at $344, Clio's Kentucky Trusts rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source and a simple will $819Estimate: 3 hours at $273, Clio's Kentucky Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source to $1,638Estimate: 6 hours at $273, Clio's Kentucky Wills and Estates rate; Compare Lawyer Rates, 2025 dataVerified Oct 15, 2026View source, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.
