A will is a crucial and legal instrument that represents the final wishes of a testator with regard to their personal property and assets and how they’d wish them to be distributed to selected heirs. Normally, most of us can only benefit from creating a will.
A thought-out and properly made last will can be vital to those you love and relatives upon your death, even when you haven’t got lots of property and assets.
Here, you’re able to get a free Kentucky last will and testament form that you can fill in and print. In addition to that, below, you will find a lot of info about the last will preparation process and answers to common questions.
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| Requirements | State laws | |
| Statutes | Chapter 394 – Wills | |
| Signing requirement | Two witnesses | 394.040 Requisites of a valid will |
| Age of testator | 18 and older with a few exceptions | 394.020 Persons competent to make , 394.030 Minor can make will, when |
| Age of witnesses | 18 and older | 394.040 Requisites of a valid will |
| Self-proving wills | Allowed | 394.225 Self-proved will |
| Handwritten wills | Recognized under certain circumstances | 394.040 Requisites of a valid will |
| Oral wills | Not recognized | |
| Holographic wills | Recognized under certain circumstances | |
1. Think about your possible choices. One thing to consider, firstly, is whether you wish to write the whole thing by hand or use a fillable last will and testament form that can be found online.
2. Specify your details. Fill in your full legal name and address (the city, county, and state of residence) to establish the testator of the last will and testament. Reread the remaining portion of the passage, including the details you’ve entered and the “Expenses and Taxes” paragraph.
3. Establish the executor (or executrix). In this passage, you determine who’ll execute your last will and testament by entering their full name, along with their city, county, and state of residence. Nearly all states have specific policies concerning the out-of-state agents and executors, which typically suggests significantly more headache and red tape. For that reason, it’s recommended to appoint somebody who lives in the same state as you. It could happen that your main representative won’t be able to carry out your will because of a sickness, death, unwillingness, or some other reasons. In this situation, the court will probably choose its own representative to handle the duties. In order to avoid that, you can select another executor by indicating the same particulars you did for the main one.
4. Establish the guardian (optional). It’s possible to specify a trusted person as a guardian if you have minor or dependent children that need to be looked after. If there are no directions pertaining to who should take care of your kids, the guardian will be chosen by the court.
5. Indicate your beneficiaries. At this point, establish those to whom you want to bequeath your property and assets, that is, your beneficiaries. For every inheritor, fill out the next details: full name, address, and the way they are related to you.
6. Allocate possessions. You can specify which of your respective inheritors gets this or that piece of property. If you don’t, the assets will be divided evenly amongst the beneficiaries. Cash, shares, realty, business control, money for arrearage, as well as any material things of commercial worth in your possession can be mentioned in your last will and testament. Please notice that there are things that can’t be distributed in your will, such as life insurance and joint and living will assets.
7. Ask witnesses to sign the document. Kentucky rules stipulate that no less than two witnesses have to sign a last will and testament for it to be regarded as legally binding. Only somebody who isn’t your named beneficiary and is of 18 years or older could be picked as a witness. As a possible additional safety measure against situations when your will is contested or some other problems, it’s a wise idea to name a witness who is younger than you to make sure they’ll still be there after you pass away. After a complete revision of each paragraph in your last will and testament, all signatories (you and your two witnesses) will have to fill out their names and full addresses and sign the will.
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The major difference between the two documents is that once you die, the agent you designate via power of attorney loses their legal authority to handle any matters in your place.
Among different power of attorney types, the two following ones are viewed as fundamental:
An executor is someone you name in your will to handle your affairs after you die. You may name the same individual to act as an attorney-in-fact and will executor.
Kentucky law says that a will can be valid without having a notary public certify it. Having said that, it is possible to make your will self-proving by adding an affidavit to the document, and you will need to visit a notary public if you wish to do that. If you make your last will self-proving, the court will not need to make contact with the witnesses to establish the validity of the document, which is going to facilitate the probate.
If you need to make a holographic will, you’ll have to write the entire thing by hand. You should understand that such a last will is usually created when there’s no other choice and is normally substituted with a much more comprehensive document created with the aid of a fillable will form or attorney at law. It is not advised to hold a holographic last will as the last version because it could contain ambiguous or contradictory statements, creating a major stalling during the probate.
An attested will is generally typed since it is often made by an attorney or is based on a will form, such as the one you may get from us. You would need to have two witnesses (18 years or older) sign the last will and testament in your presence so that it is considered valid. In certain states, you’d have to notarize it, but in Kentucky, it’s not obligatory.
The testator has to meet testamentary capacity requirements in order to write and alter their last will, which includes being of sound mind.
In most states, to make a last will and testament, you ought to be of sound mind and no less than 18 years of age. “Sound mind” means that you don’t have any type of mental illnesses (dementia, senility, insanity, etc.) that prevents you from having an understanding of the outcomes of your doings.
In line with Kentucky law, there’s no need to attach a self-proving affidavit to your last will and testament. However, it will serve you well to include this document. In the course of probate, it can act as a substitute for the witness testimony in court and ease the procedure.
In Kentucky, there’s no such term as community or marital property. This means that all the possessions collected or improved in the marriage do not have to be equally distributed between the spouses.
As per Kentucky law, it’s possible to disinherit your spouse. However, your marriage partner will be admitted to having some particular amount of your estate.
As for everyone else, it’s legal in Kentucky to disinherit members of the family in the last will and testament. Your 18-year-old and above children or any other relatives can be lawfully disinherited totally in your will. For doing that, include certain sections to your last will and testament.
No, it is only you who is permitted to modify your last will and testament. A 3rd party is only able to sign the last will when you are physically unable to do so.
Yes, this can be done.
In Kentucky, in case you haven’t engaged in a contract saying the opposite, you’re allowed to cancel or adjust your last will and testament anytime.
In addition, it will be a wise decision to review your will whenever you go through an important life event, including:
Kentucky law indicates that a last will and testament will be accepted if it has been lost or destroyed. But, the probate court is not likely to recognize anything except for the initial version of the will to probate. As per Kentucky law, the will’s absence is assumed as its repeal. That implies that the trustee will have to provide proof of the last will’s validity, which in turn might become very problematic.
For holographic wills, the situation may become far more complicated as sworn witnesses and testimony will be required. Additionally, you are also to prove as to why the will and its details can’t be provided in a way that will also confirm it hasn’t been revoked.
Solely per your instruction and with you present is someone allowed to sign your last will and testament (See Kentucky Estate Code). It’s possible to give a certain directive via a number of ways, which include voice communication, a positive response to a question, or a gesture.
A notary public is allowed to sign the testator’s name in case the latter is not able to do so on account of physical impairment. The notary has to be guided to do it with a witness present. This witness is chosen much the same way someone could decide on a trustee – they must have no legal or equitable interest in any property and assets being the issue matter of or impacted by the last will.
| Related documents | When to make it |
| Codicil | There are several minor modifications you want to make to your will. |
| Self-proving affidavit | You want to save time and legal fees for your will’s witnesses. |
| Living will | You would like to make sure that, if you’re incapacitated, you get treated exactly how you’d want to. |
| Living trust | You want to handle your end-of-life matters without probate. |
