What to Do When Someone Dies in Lewis County, Kentucky

When someone dies in Lewis County, Kentucky, an estate that needs probate is opened with the District Court in Vanceburg, for a $90 filing fee.

The first days Funeral homes Probate Serving as executor Property and debts Taxes and benefits Attorneys

The First Days After a Death in Lewis County

A certified copy of the death certificate from the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services costs $6, and each additional copy ordered at the same time costs $6. The coroner for Lewis County is the Lewis County Coroner.

Who controls the funeral and the burial or cremation follows an order set by law: surviving spouse, then surviving adult children, or a majority of them if more than one, then surviving parent or parents. An agent the person named in advance comes before that order. Cremation carries no statutory minimum waiting period.

Vital Records Office Record

Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services - Office of Vital Statistics

Lewis County · State vital records office

Phone

1-502-564-4212

Hours

Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-4:30 PM ET (except state holidays)

Office

275 East Main Street, Frankfort, KY 40621

Website

Vital records page →

Certified copies

From Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services - Office of Vital Statistics; the Local Health Department files the certificate and issues no copies to the public

Mail

Vital Statistics 275 East Main Street 1E-A Frankfort, KY 40621

Verified October 15, 2026 · Source

Coroner or Medical Examiner Record

Coroner

Lewis County · Lewis County Coroner

Phone

1-606-796-2721

Verified November 2, 2026 · Source

ToolsWhat Do I Do When Someone Dies? · How Do I Settle an Estate? · How Many Death Certificates Do I Need? · How Much Does a Funeral Cost?

Funeral Homes in Lewis County

Lewis County has 2 funeral homes and crematories, in Vanceburg: 1 lists cremation, 1 lists pre-need arrangements and 1 lists burial.

Dickerson Funeral Home

110 W. Second Street, Vanceburg, KY 41179

Vanceburg funeral home, one of the four locations of Globe Family Funeral Chapel, whose other chapels stand in Garrison, Camp Dix and Tollesboro.

1-606-796-2122

Gaydos Funeral Home

159 2nd Street, Vanceburg, KY 41179

Family-owned, independent Vanceburg funeral home the Gaydos family opened in 1986, serving the Lewis County area. Also arranges anatomical whole-body donations.

BurialCremationPre-need arrangementsOut-of-state and international transport

1-606-796-2721

Funeral homes in Lewis County →

Probate in Lewis County

Probate cases in Lewis County are filed with the District Court in Vanceburg, in the 20th Judicial District. The same 20th Judicial District also serves Greenup County. Kentucky's District Court probate filing fee is $50, with a $10 access-to-justice fee, a $20 court technology fee and, in most counties, a $10 court facilities fee, about $90 in total. The fee does not vary with estate size. Recording the admitted will with the county clerk is a separate $33.

Probate in Kentucky typically takes 12 months to 18 months. In Kentucky, estates with personal property of $30,000 or less qualify for the Petition to Dispense with Administration, a court procedure short of full probate. Creditors have 6 months to present a claim, counted from the opening of the estate.

Probate Court Record

Lewis County District Court

Lewis County · 20th Judicial District

Phone

1-606-796-3053

Hours

Monday-Tuesday, Thursday-Friday 8:00 AM-4:30 PM; Wednesday 8:00 AM-noon

Office

94 Second Street, Vanceburg, KY 41179

Website

Court website →

E-filing

Required for attorneys

Self-represented filing

Allowed

Self-help forms

Court forms packet

Open in Google Maps

E-filing

Required for attorneysAttorneys must e-file probate, guardianship and conservatorship cases through KYeCourts. A self-represented filer files on paper at the circuit court clerk's office. On paper: Self-represented filers file on paper at the circuit court clerk's office; KYeCourts takes their e-filings in small claims cases only; An attorney not yet certified for e-filing may file on paper with AOC Form 108, Affidavit of Necessity, to meet a jurisdictional deadline.

Self-represented filing

AllowedThe Kentucky Court of Justice Self-Help Portal prepares the Petition for Probate of Estate and the Petition to Dispense with Administration. Print the completed form and file it with the circuit court clerk in the county where the estate is handled.

Accepted payment

At the counterCash, Check, Money order, Credit card, Debit card.Card payments carry a processing fee.

Hearing schedule

District Court: Tuesdays.

Verified October 15, 2026 · Source

What Probate Costs in Lewis County

Probate on a $500,000 estate in Kentucky costs an estimated $23,308, counting the court fee, the executor's and the attorney's pay, the bond and publication.

State

Real Estate

Other Assets

Debts & Liabilities

Assets Passing Outside Probate

Date of Death

Estimate the cost of probate

Enter the estate value to see Kentucky attorney fees, executor fees, court costs and the timeline.

Examples:

General information about probate costs, not legal or financial advice. Fee bases vary by state and may use gross estate, personal property, inventory value or net property after debts. Actual costs vary by county, attorney and estate complexity. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions.

Free formsPetition for Probate and Letters →

ToolsDo I Need Probate? · How Much Does Probate Cost? · Who Inherits Without a Will? · What Is the Estate's Personal Property Worth for Probate?

Serving as Executor in Lewis County

The court's appointment comes as Letters of Appointment. A person can apply for the appointment without a lawyer. Informal probate is not available; a probate case is a formal one. No bond is required by default before letters issue.

Notice to creditors is published in a newspaper once. The estate inventory is due within 90 days of appointment. An executor is paid reasonable compensation from the estate. Probate attorneys are paid reasonable compensation from the estate.

State

County

Estate Value

Date of Death

Is There a Will?

YesNo

Is the Surviving Spouse the Only Heir?

YesNo

Complicating Factors

Includes real estate or investments

Business assets or out-of-state property

Disputed will, creditors, or family conflict

Minor or special needs beneficiaries

See whether you can file probate yourself

Enter the estate value to see whether Kentucky lets a self-represented person open probate, what the court requires, and what each route costs.

General information about filing probate without a lawyer, not legal advice. Both routes are priced by the probate cost estimator on the same estate; the attorney fee is the one line that differs. Actual costs vary by county, attorney and estate complexity. Consult a licensed attorney for legal questions.

Free formsRenunciation of Executor →Estate Inventory →Estate Closing →

ToolsHow Do I Get Letters Testamentary? · Can I Self-File Probate? · How Much Can an Executor Charge? · What Are the Creditor Claim Deadlines?

Homes, Accounts and Debts in Lewis County

A deed from the personal representative, an affidavit that records a death, or a court order is recorded with the County Clerk for Lewis County. Recording a 2-page document there costs $46 in recording fees, before any form fee the office adds. The County Clerk accepts electronic recording through Indecomm, Hopdox, CSC, Simplifile and ePN. Kentucky has two survivorship vestings: joint tenants with a right of survivorship, where the deed shows the owners intended the share of one who dies to belong to the others, and a husband and wife holding with a right to the entirety by survivorship, which the deed must provide for expressly. Without that language the owners hold as tenants in common.

The estate's bank account can be at an institution located in Kentucky. Property the state holds as unclaimed for the person who died is claimed from the Kentucky State Treasurer, Unclaimed Property Division. An estate that cannot pay every debt pays them in an order set by statute, in 4 classes.

Recording Office Record

County Clerk

Lewis County

Phone

1-606-796-3062

Hours

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 8:00 AM-4:30 PM; Wednesday 8:00 AM-noon

Office

112 Second Street, Suite 202, Vanceburg, KY 41179

Website

Recorder website →

E-recording

available via Indecomm, Hopdox, CSC, Simplifile and ePN

Open in Google Maps

Mail

P.O. Box 129 Vanceburg, KY 41179

Verified October 16, 2026 · Source

Free formsAffidavit of Heirship →Letter of Instruction →Digital Assets Recovery Letter →

ToolsWhat Happens to Jointly Owned Property When an Owner Dies? · How Do I Open an Estate Account When Someone Dies? · How Do I Claim a Deceased Person's Unclaimed Property? · What Happens When an Estate Is Insolvent?

Taxes and Benefits

Inheritances are taxed in Kentucky, at rates set by the heir's relationship to the person who died. The final state income tax return for the year of death is Form 740. The federal estate tax exempts the first $15,000,000 per person.

Social Security pays a one-time death payment of $255 to a surviving spouse who lived in the same household, or else to a spouse or child entitled to survivor benefits for the month of death.