Kentucky's recorded instrument, Affidavit of Descent, rests on a statute written for a sworn statement of heirs. What a recorded affidavit does, in the statute's words: a recording prerequisite: before a deed from an heir to real property that passed by descent is filed for record, the affidavit must be presented to the county clerk, recorded in the record of deeds, and indexed as if it were a deed from the decedent to the heirs at law; the statute states no evidentiary presumption or marketable-title effectKRS 382.120(1)-(3)Verified Sep 24, 2026View source. It is evidence of the facts it states, not a deed; it does not itself transfer title, and a purchaser, lender or title company decides whether to rely on it.
In the clerk of the county in which the real property is situated, recorded in the record of deedsKRS 382.120(2)Verified Sep 24, 2026View source. The office records it as it records deeds, in the county where the land lies, and charges its recording fee per page. The page is laid out to Kentucky's recording standard: a 3-inch clear top margin on the first page, 1-inch side margins, type no smaller than 10 pointsKRS 382.335Verified Sep 25, 2026View source.
It depends on what the person owned and how it was titled. Property with a named beneficiary, joint property with survivorship, and property in a trust pass outside probate. What remains goes through probate unless it is under the state's small estate limit, in which case a small estate affidavit collects it. The Probate Decision Tool applies your state's rules.
When the estate's value is under the state's limit and the state's waiting period after the death has passed. The limit and the period differ by state, and several states run the small estate as a court process rather than an affidavit. The builder checks the estate against your state's limit before it produces the document.
It records who the heirs are when no estate was administered, so that real property can be dealt with in the county land records. It is a sworn statement of the decedent's family history, laid out to the state's recording rules. It does not itself transfer title.