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Intestate Succession Laws in Kentucky

In Kentucky, a surviving spouse receives one-half of the surplus real estate owned at death and one-half of the surplus personal property, and the children, or the parents if there are no descendants, inherit the rest. Kentucky is not a community property state.

Last checked . General information, not legal advice.

Kentucky at a glance

Spouse share with shared children
1/2 of surplus real and personal property
Statutory dower share under KRS 392.020, plus a life estate in 1/3 of real estate owned during the marriage but not at death; the children take the rest.
Spouse takes all with shared children
No
Spouse share with parents, no descendants
1/2 of surplus real and personal property
Parents inherit ahead of the spouse under KRS 391.010 and take the rest; the spouse keeps the KRS 392.020 share.
Community property state
No

Sources

Last checked

The rules in Kentucky

How much does a surviving spouse inherit in Kentucky when the deceased leaves children who are also the spouse's children?

Spouse share with shared children in Kentucky: 1/2 of surplus real and personal property. Statutory dower share under KRS 392.020, plus a life estate in 1/3 of real estate owned during the marriage but not at death; the children take the rest.

Does a surviving spouse in Kentucky inherit the entire intestate estate when all of the deceased's children are also the spouse's children and the spouse has no other descendants?

No. Spouse takes all with shared children in Kentucky: no.

How much does a surviving spouse inherit in Kentucky when the deceased leaves no descendants but at least one parent is alive?

Spouse share with parents, no descendants in Kentucky: 1/2 of surplus real and personal property. Parents inherit ahead of the spouse under KRS 391.010 and take the rest; the spouse keeps the KRS 392.020 share.

Is Kentucky a community property state?

No. Community property state in Kentucky: no.

Where do the Kentucky intestate succession laws come from?

The rules above come from Ky. Rev. Stat. 391.010, Ky. Rev. Stat. 391.030 and Ky. Rev. Stat. 392.020. Each source is linked on this page. We last checked them in October 2026.

Good to know

The spouse also takes one-half of the surplus personal property absolutely under KRS 392.020, and under KRS 391.030 up to $30,000 of personal property or money can be set apart for the surviving spouse before distribution.

What this means in practice

Intestate succession rules apply only to probate property. Assets with a named beneficiary or a survivorship feature, such as life insurance, retirement accounts, payable-on-death accounts, jointly owned property with a right of survivorship and transfer-on-death deeds, usually pass outside these rules.

Family situations change the result. Children from a prior relationship, adopted children, a pending divorce or a legal separation can all affect who inherits and in what shares, so check how the statute treats each of these before relying on a simple summary.

Real estate is generally governed by the law of the state where it is located, while other property usually follows the law of the state where the person lived. A person who owns land in more than one state may have more than one set of rules apply to the estate.

General information, not legal advice. Laws change, and cities can add their own rules, so check the current statute before you rely on it.