{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-395.015","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 395.015","heading":"Applications for appointment of personal representative -- Presentation of","body":"will -- General financial disclosure statement -- Declaration.\n(1) Before being appointed as executor, administrator, curator, or administrator with\nthe will annexed, every person shall make and file in duplicate a written application\nfor appointment under oath, which shall include:\n(a) The names of the deceased's surviving spouse and all of his or her heirs at law\nas are known, and the United States postal address and electronic mail address\nof each if known;\n(b) The date of death;\n(c) A statement of any indebtedness owing by the applicant to the deceased;\n(d) If the decedent died testate, the name and address of the person to whom any\nwill admitted to probate and recor ded with the county clerk is to be returned\nunder KRS 394.300; and\n(e) An acknowledgment by the person seeking appointment as executor,\nadministrator, curator, or administrator with the will annexed in substantially\nthe following form:\n\"Upon appointment, I agree to faithfully execute the duties required by law,\nand such additional duties ordered by the court, and that I am subject to\nremoval as a fiduciary if I fail to perform the required duties, and subject to\npossible civil and criminal penalties for improper conversion of any property I\nhold as a fiduciary.\"\n(2) (a) If the decedent died testate, the decedent's will shall be presented to the court\nprior to or at the time of any appointment.\n(b) After the will is admitted to probate, the clerk of the court shall:\n1. Beginning January 1, 2028, collect the fee required by the county clerk\nunder KRS 64.012 for the filing of a will and the tax required under\nKRS 142.010; and\n2. Deliver the following to the county clerk:\na. The will and a certified copy of the order admitting the will to\nprobate, which shall include the name and address of the person to\nwhom the will is to be returned as provided under KRS 394.300;\nand\nb. The filing fee and tax collecte d under subparagraph 1. of this\nparagraph.\n(3) (a) A written general financial disclosure statement of the property of the\ndecedent, to the extent known, shall be filed separately at the time of filing the\napplication for appointment.\n(b) The general financial disclosure statement shall comply with the requirements\nin subsection (4) of this section and shall include the approximate value,\ndetermined in good faith, of all real and personal property known by the\napplicant which may include:\n1. Furniture and household goods;\n2. Personal effects, including jewelry and collectibles;\n3. Stocks, bonds, bank accounts, and retirement accounts that do not\nconstitute a nontestamentary transfer on death as provided in KRS\n391.360;\n4. Insurance policies if payable to the estate of the decedent;\n5. Real property that is not held in joint ownership with another with right\nof survivorship; and\n6. Any other personal property accurately identified, including the\ndecedent's share in any partnership or ownership in any other entity.\n(c) The general financial disclosure statement shall be confidential, placed under\nseal when filed, and disclosed only:\n1. To the personal representative;\n2. To the personal representative's attorney;\n3. To any beneficiary or heir at law;\n4. As required under subsection (9) of this section and KRS 395.250; or\n5. By order of the court upon a showing of good cause that shall include a\ncreditor who has filed a verified statement of claim against the estate.\n(d) As used in paragraph (c) of this subsection,  and in KRS 395.250(7), a finding\nof good cause shall not:\n1. Be based solely on the position of the decedent as a public official,\npublic figure, or other person who has drawn substantial public attention\ndue to the person's official acts, fame, notoriety, or celebrity; or\n2. Be made if the release of the protected information would constitute a\nclearly unwarranted invasion or exploitation of personal privacy or\nproprietary interests of a beneficiary of the estate or an heir at law\nwithout substantial evid ence of irreparable harm or material financial\nloss if release of the requested information to the requesting party is\ndenied.\n(4) The application for appointment and the general financial disclosure statement shall\nbe signed and dated by the person seekin g the appointment and the\nacknowledgment required under subsections (1) and (3) of this section may be\nsatisfied, with like force and effect, by a written and dated declaration under the\npenalty of perjury, in substantially the following form:\n\"I declare under the penalties of perjury of the laws of the Commonwealth of\nKentucky, which may include a fine or imprisonment, that the foregoing is true and\ncorrect.\"\n(5) If the application for appointment is being made by the executor named in the will,\nthe names and addresses of the heirs at law may be omitted unless requested by the\ncourt.\n(6) The application of a nonresident shall include the designation of a resident of the\ncounty where probate or administration is pending as his or her agent for the service\nof process in any action against him or her as personal representative or personally,\nprovided that the personal action must have accrued in the administration of the\nestate.\n(7) (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, the court shall set a\ntime for hearing the application for appointment when:\n1. An administrator with will annexed or de bonis non is to be appointed\nand there is no surviving spouse; or\n2. The surviving spouse waives the right of appointment or is not qualified\nto act and does not nominate a suitable administrator, and there is more\nthan one (1) resident heir at law entitled to appointment.\n(b) No hearing shall be required under p aragraph (a)2. of this subsection if the\nsurviving spouse and all of the known heirs at law have executed a waiver of\nthe right to a hearing.\n(c) Notice of any hearing set under this subsection shall be given to the surviving\nspouse and all known heirs of the deceased residing in the state, or elsewhere,\nin the manner provided in KRS 395.016.\n(8) Upon receipt of the filings and presentation of the will as required under this\nsection, the court, in its discretion, shall determine if a hearing on the applica tion\nfor the appointment of a fiduciary is required.\n(9) The clerk of the court shall transmit a copy of the application and general financial\ndisclosure statement to the commissioner of the Department of Revenue.","path":["KRS Chapter 395"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57668","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:59:26Z","sha256":"16c3b8758f4456954b6c1c95af68cc9352e5f052da7885a90ce31594cdd24529","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-395.012","next":"us-ky/krs-395.016"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}