Standard processing in Kentucky takes Up to 30 business days for mail ordersKentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services - Office of Vital StatisticsVerified Oct 15, 2026View source. A funeral home's order at the time of death usually arrives first.

Kentucky sets a statutory order for who controls the disposition of remains: surviving spouse, then surviving adult children, or a majority of them if more than one, then surviving parent or parentsKRS 367.93117Verified Sep 10, 2026View source. The state allows you to name your own agent in a signed, written documentKRS 367.93101–367.93121Verified Sep 10, 2026View source, and that designation takes priority over the default order. Those wishes can be recorded alongside the rest of an estate plan when you create a revocable living trust.

Kentucky imposes no statutory minimum waiting periodKRS 213.081Verified Sep 10, 2026View source before cremation. A medical examiner or coroner authorizes the cremation before it proceeds. The authorizing agent — the person holding disposition authority under KRS 367.93117 — must sign a cremation authorization form before a crematory authority may accept the body or conduct the cremation (KRS 367.97524(1)), and the coroner of the county where the death occurred must issue a permit stating the cause of death and authorizing the cremation (KRS 213.081(1)).

Kentucky allows estates with personal property of $30,000KRS 391.030Verified Sep 8, 2026View source or less to use the Petition to Dispense with AdministrationKRS 391.030Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, which avoids full probate administration. Kentucky's small estate shortcut is a court procedure: the court's own order authorizes collection. There is no affidavit to present to a bank. There is no statutory waiting period.