Estate Planning in Pendleton County, Kentucky

Wills, Guardians and Funeral Wishes in Pendleton County

A will made in Kentucky is signed before 2KRS 394.040Verified Oct 18, 2026View source witnesses. The person making it must be at least 18 years old. A gift in the will to one of its witnesses can be voided or reducedKRS 394.210Verified Oct 18, 2026View source. The will can be made self-proved, so it can be admitted to probate without the witnesses' testimony. A handwritten will is recognized too. Kentucky law defines a will to include a codicil, so a codicil is signed and witnessed by two credible witnesses as a will is. It can be made self-proved the same way, by the testator's acknowledgment and the witnesses' affidavits before an officer authorized to administer oathsKRS 394.010Verified Oct 25, 2026View source.

After a death, opening an estate in Pendleton County costs $90.

Parents name a guardian for a minor child in a willKRS 387.040; KRS 387.032 (court considers nominee, best-interest standard)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source. When a parent has named one, the nomination is one factor the court weighs in deciding the child's best interest. The choice covers a child until age 18KRS 2.015; KRS 387.010(1) ("minor" = under 18)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.

Who controls a person's funeral and 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 parentsKRS 367.93117Verified Oct 17, 2026View source. A person can name their own agent for those decisions in advanceKRS 367.93101–367.93121Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, and the agent named comes before that order.

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Living Trusts in Pendleton County

A living trust needs no notaryKRS 386B.1-010 et seq.Verified Oct 17, 2026View source. Banks and others dealing with a trustee can rely on a certificate of trust in place of the whole trust documentKRS § 386B.10-120Verified Sep 20, 2026.

Putting a home in Pendleton County into the trust takes a deed, recorded with the County Clerk. Recording a 2-page document there costs $46 in recording fees, before any form fee the office adds. The office accepts electronic recording through Simplifile. A deed into the owner's own trust pays no transfer taxKRS 386B.1-010 et seq.Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, and the property is not reassessed for tax when it goes in. A home in the owner's trust keeps its homestead exemption.

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Accounts and Beneficiaries

Divorce does not revoke a former spouse as beneficiaryKRS 394.092Verified Sep 15, 2026View source in Kentucky; the designation stands until the owner changes it. An employer retirement plan pays its death benefit to the beneficiary named in the plan's records29 U.S.C. § 1104(a)(1)(D)Verified Nov 1, 2026View source, and federal law displaces a state rule that would redirect it29 U.S.C. § 1144(a)Verified Nov 1, 2026View source. A married participant's spouse is the beneficiary29 U.S.C. § 1055(b)(1)(C)(i)Verified Nov 1, 2026View source unless the spouse consented in writing to another29 U.S.C. § 1055(c)(2)(A)Verified Nov 1, 2026View source. An inherited IRA is protected from the beneficiary's creditors in partKRS 427.150Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.

At a death, the sums in a joint account belong to the surviving owner unless the account says otherwiseKRS 391.315(1)(a)Verified Nov 1, 2026View source. A pay-on-death account passes to the named beneficiary at the owner's deathKRS 391.315(2)Verified Nov 1, 2026View source. A brokerage account or a security registered in beneficiary form passes at the owner's death to the beneficiary who survivesKRS 292.6507Verified Nov 1, 2026View source, and to the estate if none survives.

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Powers of Attorney and Healthcare Documents in Pendleton County

A financial power of attorney made in Kentucky needs no witness and no notary to be validKRS § 457.050Verified Oct 21, 2026View source. It stays in effect if the signer becomes incapacitated unless it says otherwiseKRS § 457.050Verified Sep 18, 2026View source. It can be written to take effect only if the signer becomes incapacitated. One used to sign a deed or mortgage must be recorded; for real estate in Pendleton County that is with the County Clerk.

For medical decisions, a healthcare power of attorney is signed before 2KRS 311.625Verified Oct 15, 2026View source witnesses or a notary. The living will in Kentucky is the Living Will DirectiveKRS 311.621 to 311.643 (Kentucky Living Will Directive Act); KRS 311.623, 311.625Verified Sep 27, 2026View source, which is signed the same wayKRS 311.625(2); KRS 311.621(1)Verified Sep 27, 2026View source. A medical-records release follows the state's own rulesKRS 214.181(5)(d)Verified Jun 19, 2026View source for HIV/AIDS-related information, beyond the federal authorization.

Taxes, Signing and Moving

Inheritances are taxed in KentuckyKRS 140.060, 140.070, 140.080, 140.160, 140.210Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, at rates set by the heir's relationship to the person who died. The federal estate tax exempts the first $15,000,00026 USC 2001(c), 2010; P.L. 119-21 §70106Verified Sep 15, 2026View source per person. The federal annual gift tax exclusion is $19,00026 USC § 2503(b); Rev. Proc. 2025-32 § 4.42Verified Sep 15, 2026View source per recipient.

Remote online notarization is authorized in KentuckyKRS 423.455Verified Oct 15, 2026View source, wills included. No statute recognizes a will by the law of the place where it was signedKRS 394.120, 394.150Verified Oct 18, 2026View source.

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