Free Kentucky Last Will and Testament
Build a complete Kentucky will in minutes — free, no account. Fill in your details and download a ready-to-sign PDF with the protective clauses built in and Kentucky's correct signing requirements.
A free, ready-to-sign will — but not legal advice.
This builds a complete Kentucky will with the protective clauses most templates skip (survivorship period, residuary, minor's trust, executor powers). It becomes legally valid only when you sign it correctly (see the signing steps below). For a large or blended estate, have an attorney review it. RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
About you
Children
Name all your children, even any you are not leaving anything to — naming them prevents an 'omitted child' claim.
Who inherits everything else (your residuary estate)
The catch-all gift of everything not specifically given. Shares should total 100%.
Specific gifts (optional)
Particular items or sums to particular people.
Executor (the person who carries out your will)
Options
Naming them states the omission is intentional. Note: you generally cannot fully disinherit a spouse (see the warnings).
Before you sign — Kentucky notes
Choose 2 witnesses who are adults and who do NOT inherit under this Will. A beneficiary (or a beneficiary's spouse) should never witness your Will.
Add at least one residuary beneficiary with a share above 0%. Without a residuary gift, everything not specifically given would pass by intestacy (state default rules), defeating the point of the Will.
To make this Will valid in Kentucky: In Kentucky, a typed/attested will (18+ testator of sound mind) must be signed by the testator and subscribed by at least two credible witnesses in the testator's presence (witnesses need not sign in each other's presence). Kentucky also recognizes a holographic will that is wholly handwritten and signed by the testator, with no witnesses required. To make an attested will self-proved, use the § 394.225 affidavit (UPC-style form) signed by the testator and both witnesses before a notary.
This is a do-it-yourself Will for a straightforward estate. If you have a large or blended estate, business interests, tax concerns, a special-needs beneficiary, or want to disinherit close family, have an attorney review it. This is not legal advice and RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
Or email yourself a copy (PDF)
Last Will and Testament of [YOUR FULL NAME]
ARTICLE I — DECLARATION
I, [YOUR FULL NAME], a resident of [CITY], [COUNTY] County, Kentucky, being of full legal age to make a will and of sound mind and memory, declare this to be my Last Will and Testament, and I revoke all wills and codicils I have previously made.
ARTICLE II — FAMILY
I am not married.
If I have not named or provided for a child or other descendant in this Will, that omission is intentional and not the result of accident or mistake.
ARTICLE III — PAYMENT OF DEBTS, EXPENSES, AND TAXES
I direct my Executor to pay my legally enforceable debts, the expenses of my last illness and funeral, the costs of administering my estate, and any estate or inheritance taxes payable by reason of my death, out of the residue of my estate, without apportionment.
ARTICLE IV — TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY
I give my tangible personal property (household goods, furniture, vehicles, jewelry, collections, and personal effects not otherwise specifically given) to my residuary beneficiaries as they agree, or as my Executor determines if they cannot agree.
Kentucky does not give legal effect to a separate personal-property memorandum, so any specific items must be listed in this Will itself to be binding.
ARTICLE V — RESIDUARY ESTATE
I give all the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate to [RESIDUARY BENEFICIARY].
If no beneficiary named in this article survives me, my residuary estate shall pass to my heirs at law under the intestacy laws of my state.
ARTICLE VI — SURVIVORSHIP
Except as otherwise provided, a beneficiary must survive me by 30 days to receive any gift under this Will. A beneficiary who does not survive me by 30 days shall be treated as having predeceased me. This protects my estate from passing through the estate of a beneficiary who dies shortly after me.
ARTICLE VII — APPOINTMENT OF EXECUTOR
I nominate [EXECUTOR NAME] as Executor of this Will.
I direct that my Executor serve without bond and, to the fullest extent allowed by law, without court supervision (independent administration). My Executor shall have all powers granted to executors and personal representatives under the law of my state, including the power to sell, lease, invest, and distribute estate property, to pay debts and taxes, and to settle claims, all without prior court approval, as my Executor deems to be in the best interest of my estate.
ARTICLE VIII — DIGITAL ASSETS
I authorize my Executor to access, manage, distribute, and dispose of my digital assets and electronic communications, and to act as my fiduciary under the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (or its equivalent in my state), with full authority to consent to a custodian's disclosure of the content and records of my electronic communications and accounts.
ARTICLE IX — SIMULTANEOUS DEATH
If any beneficiary and I die under circumstances in which the order of our deaths cannot be established, that beneficiary shall be deemed to have predeceased me. If my spouse and I die under such circumstances, my spouse shall be deemed to have predeceased me.
ARTICLE X — GENERAL PROVISIONS
This Will shall be governed by the laws of the State of Kentucky.
If any provision of this Will is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall remain in full effect. Words of one gender include the other, and the singular includes the plural, as the context requires. The headings are for convenience only and do not affect the meaning of this Will.
EXECUTION
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I sign this Will, consisting of the foregoing pages, on this _____ day of ____________, 20____, at [CITY], Kentucky.
____________________________________
[YOUR FULL NAME], Testator
ATTESTATION — The foregoing instrument was signed by the Testator and declared to be the Testator's Will in our presence, and we, at the Testator's request and in the Testator's presence and in the presence of each other, sign below as witnesses, believing the Testator to be of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence.
Witness 1: ____________________________ Address: ____________________________
Witness 2: ____________________________ Address: ____________________________
SELF-PROVING AFFIDAVIT (KRS § 394.225) — sign this part before a notary to make probate easier:
(Self-proving affidavit, KRS § 394.225 — simultaneous execution form)
"I, [TESTATOR NAME], the testator, sign my name to this instrument this [DAY] day of [MONTH], [YEAR], and being first duly sworn, do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that I sign and execute this instrument as my last will and that I sign it willingly (or willingly direct another to sign for me), that I execute it as my free and voluntary act for the purposes therein expressed, and that I am eighteen (18) years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence."
[Testator signature] ____________
"We, [WITNESS 1 NAME], [WITNESS 2 NAME], the witnesses, sign our names to this instrument, being first duly sworn, and do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that the testator signs and executes this instrument as the testator's last will and that the testator signs it willingly (or willingly directs another to sign for the testator), and that each of us, in the presence and hearing of the testator, hereby signs this will as witness to the testator's signing, and that to the best of our knowledge the testator is eighteen (18) years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence."
[Witness signatures] ____________ / ____________
The State of [STATE], County of [COUNTY].
"Subscribed, sworn to and acknowledged before me by [TESTATOR NAME], the testator, and subscribed and sworn to before me by [WITNESS 1 NAME], and [WITNESS 2 NAME], witnesses, this [DAY] day of [MONTH], [YEAR]."
(Seal) (Signed) ____________ (Official capacity of officer)
How to Sign Your Will in Kentucky
In Kentucky, a typed/attested will (18+ testator of sound mind) must be signed by the testator and subscribed by at least two credible witnesses in the testator's presence (witnesses need not sign in each other's presence). Kentucky also recognizes a holographic will that is wholly handwritten and signed by the testator, with no witnesses required. To make an attested will self-proved, use the § 394.225 affidavit (UPC-style form) signed by the testator and both witnesses before a notary.
Kentucky requires 2 witnesses: No will is valid unless it is in writing with the testator's name subscribed by the testator (or by another in the testator's presence and by the testator's direction). If the will is NOT wholly written by the testator (i.e., not holographic), the subscription must be made, or the will acknowledged by the testator, in the presence of at least two credible witnesses, who must subscribe the will with their names in the presence of the testator (KRS § 394.040). Witnesses need not sign in each other's presence. A beneficial devise to a subscribing witness is void to the extent it exceeds an intestate share unless there are two other competent witnesses (KRS § 394.210).. Your will does not need to be notarized to be valid.
Choose witnesses who are adults and who do not inherit under your will. A beneficiary should never witness your will. Then sign the self-proving affidavit (KRS § 394.225) in front of a notary. That sworn statement lets the court accept your will without tracking down your witnesses later, which speeds up probate.
Can You Use a Handwritten (Holographic) Will in Kentucky?
Kentucky recognizes holographic wills. Under KRS § 394.040, a will wholly written in the testator's own handwriting and signed by the testator is valid without witnesses. (Kentucky also applies a substantial-compliance approach in some cases.) Even so, a typed will signed in front of witnesses is far less likely to be challenged, because handwritten wills are easy to get wrong (unclear gifts, no date, no witnesses) and invite disputes.
Spousal and Family Protections in Kentucky
Can you disinherit your spouse? You CANNOT fully disinherit a spouse. Kentucky uses a DOWER/CURTESY system rather than a UPC elective share. On renouncing the will, the surviving spouse takes: ONE-HALF (1/2) of the surplus PERSONAL property, plus a one-half interest in real estate the decedent owned during the marriage and was not sold/relinquished — BUT as to real estate the decedent held in fee simple at death, the renouncing spouse's share is reduced to ONE-THIRD (1/3). The renunciation must be made within the statutory period after probate. (Distinct from most states: fractions differ for personalty vs. fee-simple realty.)
Children born after your will: Ky. Rev. Stat. § 394.382: a child born or adopted (or a living child unknown to or believed dead by the testator) AFTER the will is executed and not provided for takes the share they would have received under intestacy, unless the omission was intentional and that intent appears, or the child was otherwise provided for. This is why the generator has you name your children and states that any omission is intentional.
If a beneficiary dies before you: Kentucky anti-lapse: if a devisee who is a descendant of the testator (or other protected kin) predeceases the testator leaving descendants who survive, the gift passes to those descendants instead of lapsing, unless the will provides otherwise. Generator should add an express alternate-taker clause. The generator's "per stirpes" option and survivorship clause work alongside this rule.
Survivorship, No-Contest, and Digital Assets
Survivorship: Kentucky has NOT adopted the UPC 120-hour will-survival default. Kentucky's Simultaneous Death Act (Ky. Rev. Stat. ch. 397) applies only when the order of deaths cannot be established. There is no general 120-hour buffer for ordinary devises, so the generator should draft an explicit survivorship period (30–60 days). The generator builds in a 30-to-60-day survivorship period regardless.
No-contest clauses: Kentucky ENFORCES no-contest (in terrorem) clauses, construing them according to their terms; Kentucky has historically applied them strictly and does NOT clearly recognize a broad statutory probable-cause safe harbor (older Kentucky case law has, in narrow circumstances, declined forfeiture for a good-faith challenge, but the default posture is enforcement). Treat as 'enforced.'
Digital assets: Kentucky has adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, so your executor can manage your online accounts and digital property — the generator includes a clause granting that authority.
Personal-property list: Kentucky does not give legal effect to a separate personal-property memorandum, so list any specific items in the will itself.
What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Kentucky?
Kentucky's intestacy law was overhauled by 2026 Senate Bill 50 (effective July 15, 2026), which for the first time puts the surviving spouse FIRST in line for real estate with modern Uniform-Probate-Code-style shares: the spouse takes all the real estate if there are no children or only joint children, but drops to one-half of the real estate when a child from another relationship is involved. The spouse also keeps the long-standing dower/curtesy one-half of surplus personal property. With no spouse, real estate passes to children, then parents, then siblings.
- Spouse, no children: Entire estate. With no surviving descendant of the decedent, the surviving spouse takes the entirety of the real estate (and, with the spouse first in line for personalty, effectively the whole estate).
- Spouse and shared children: Entire real estate to the spouse if all of the decedent's surviving descendants are also descendants of the surviving spouse. (New rule effective July 15, 2026 - see flags. The spouse also takes 1/2 of the surplus personalty under KRS 391.030/392.020.)
- Spouse and a child from another relationship: One-half (1/2) of the real estate to the spouse if the decedent is survived by one or more descendants who are NOT lineal descendants of the surviving spouse; the other half passes to the decedent's children/descendants. The same one-half applies where all children are joint but the surviving spouse has descendants of their own who are not the decedent's.
- Children, no spouse: No spouse: the entire estate passes to the decedent's children and their descendants (per stirpes).
- No spouse or children: After the spouse, to the decedent's parents (both living take one moiety each; the survivor takes the whole); then to brothers and sisters and their descendants; then the estate splits into paternal and maternal moieties to grandparents and their descendants; finally to the kindred of a deceased spouse, then escheat.
Unmarried partners, friends, and stepchildren you have not adopted generally receive nothing under intestacy. A will is how you override these defaults. Source: Ky. Rev. Stat. §§ 391.010, 392.020 (391.010 as amended by 2026 Ky. Acts ch. 134 / SB 50, eff. July 15, 2026).
Updating, Revoking, and Storing Your Will
Review your will after any big life change — marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, or a move to a new state. To change it, either sign a new will that revokes the old one (the cleanest option, and what this generator produces) or add a witnessed "codicil." Do not cross things out on a signed will — handwritten edits can invalidate it. Store the signed original somewhere safe and tell your executor where it is; a will that cannot be found is presumed revoked.
Common mistakes to avoid: using a beneficiary as a witness; forgetting a residuary clause (so part of the estate passes by intestacy); leaving a young child a lump sum outright at 18 instead of in trust; not naming a backup executor or guardian; and never actually signing the document. The generator above is built to avoid each of these.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a will made online valid in Kentucky?
Yes, if you sign it correctly. Kentucky requires 2 witnesses. The document this tool creates is a standard typed will; it becomes legally valid when you sign it following the steps above.
Does my Kentucky will need to be notarized?
No. Kentucky does not require your will to be notarized to be valid. Notarizing the separate self-proving affidavit is optional but makes probate easier.
How many witnesses does a Kentucky will need?
2 witnesses. No will is valid unless it is in writing with the testator's name subscribed by the testator (or by another in the testator's presence and by the testator's direction). If the will is NOT wholly written by the testator (i.e., not holographic), the subscription must be made, or the will acknowledged by the testator, in the presence of at least two credible witnesses, who must subscribe the will with their names in the presence of the testator (KRS § 394.040). Witnesses need not sign in each other's presence. A beneficial devise to a subscribing witness is void to the extent it exceeds an intestate share unless there are two other competent witnesses (KRS § 394.210). They should be adults who do not inherit under the will.
Can I leave my spouse out of my Kentucky will?
You CANNOT fully disinherit a spouse. Kentucky uses a DOWER/CURTESY system rather than a UPC elective share. On renouncing the will, the surviving spouse takes: ONE-HALF (1/2) of the surplus PERSONAL property, plus a one-half interest in real estate the decedent owned during the marriage and was not sold/relinquished — BUT as to real estate the decedent held in fee simple at death, the renouncing spouse's share is reduced to ONE-THIRD (1/3). The renunciation must be made within the statutory period after probate. (Distinct from most states: fractions differ for personalty vs. fee-simple realty.)
What happens if I die without a will in Kentucky?
Kentucky's intestacy law was overhauled by 2026 Senate Bill 50 (effective July 15, 2026), which for the first time puts the surviving spouse FIRST in line for real estate with modern Uniform-Probate-Code-style shares: the spouse takes all the real estate if there are no children or only joint children, but drops to one-half of the real estate when a child from another relationship is involved. The spouse also keeps the long-standing dower/curtesy one-half of surplus personal property. With no spouse, real estate passes to children, then parents, then siblings.
Does a Kentucky will avoid probate?
No. A will still goes through probate — it directs how your estate is distributed and names your executor, but the court still supervises (often a simplified, independent administration). To avoid probate entirely, people use living trusts and beneficiary designations in addition to a will.
How old do I have to be to make a will in Kentucky?
Generally 18. Must be 18 or older and of sound mind (KRS § 394.020). An exception allows a person under 18 to dispose by will of accumulated personal earnings/property they could lawfully manage (limited). You must also be of sound mind.
Can I write my will by hand in Kentucky?
Kentucky recognizes handwritten (holographic) wills, but they are easy to get wrong and easy to challenge. A typed, witnessed will is much safer.
Do I need a lawyer to make a will in Kentucky?
Not for a straightforward estate — a properly signed will is valid whether or not a lawyer drafts it. See an attorney if you have a large or blended estate, business interests, tax concerns, a special-needs beneficiary, or want to disinherit close family.
Is this really free?
Yes. The generator is free, requires no account, and runs entirely in your browser — your answers are not sent to a server. It is not legal advice and RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
Disclaimer
This generator produces a general-purpose will for a straightforward estate and is not legal advice or a substitute for an attorney. Will and probate law changes; the Kentucky requirements here are current as of 2026-06-03. A will is only valid if signed and witnessed correctly. For a large, blended, or complex estate, tax planning, a special-needs beneficiary, or to disinherit close family, consult a Kentucky estate-planning attorney. RecordingLaw.com is not a law firm.
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