Bench & Bar September/October 2026

G overnor Andy Beshear recently signed Senate Bill 50 (“SB 50”) into law, ushering in one of the most significant updates to Kentucky’s estate and trust laws during the careers of most Kentucky attorneys practicing today. Mostly, effective July 15, 2026, the legis lation expands spousal rights in estates, streamlines probate procedures, autho rizes electronic execution of planning documents, and adopts multiple changes to statutes governing trust creation and administration. Together, these changes modernize the Commonwealth’s trusts and estates legal framework and will materially impact how practitioners advise their cli ents. This article highlights several of SB 50’s most significant provisions and will offer some initial guidance to practitioners on the impact of these changes. ESTATE ADMINISTRATION SB 50 amends KRS 391.01 to update the distribution of assets in intestacy. Property will now pass to the spouse in its entirety if the decedent had no descendants, or if the descendants of the decedent are also descendants of the surviving spouse. Step children are also now included in the list of heirs-at-law, though after most other degrees of kinship have been exhausted. 1 Further, property that passes by beneficiary designation, joint ownership, or transfer on death designation is now included in the calculation of a surviving spouse’s statutory share of the estate. 2 SB 50 also strengthens the claim of the surviving spouse of assets held in certain trusts. Assets held in trust over which the decedent holds (1) a general power of appointment or (2) a power of revocation are now to be included in the calculation of the statutory share. Further, the statutory share calculation now builds in a two-year lookback from the date of death. The look back includes transfers to trusts and third parties when determining the spouse’s statutory share. 3 These changes codify Kentucky’s patchwork of judicial holdings against “fraud on the dower” and create a more equitable standard for the division of a decedent’s assets between a surviving

spouse and other beneficiaries. Doubtless, there have previously been instances when a surviving spouse decided against an action to recover a comprehensive statutory share because of the time, expense and uncertain outcome of such an action. Amendments to KRS 395 have changed much of the form and function of the pro bate process. The changes are particular and detailed, but the broad strokes serve to streamline the appointment process and improve privacy for decedents and bene ficiaries. Inventories and initial “general financial disclosures” are required, but those filings are sealed by default for the privacy of decedents. 4 The deadline for filing a probate inventory has been extended from sixty (60) days to ninety (90) days. The changes have also codified a method for appointment of an executor without a hearing, provided a notarized oath is submitted alongside the filing of the initial paperwork to open the estate. 5 These changes extend to the dispensation of an estate. If a personal representative real izes after the fact that an estate is under the threshold for dispensation, and the estate otherwise qualifies, the personal repre sentative may petition to have the estate closed and an order dispensing approved. 6 This should bring much-needed flexibility for practitioners — estates may be closed as needed even once the probate process has already begun. There are also significant changes to Ken tucky inheritance taxes. Based upon a second set of bills passed during this leg islative session, for deaths occurring after July 1, 2026, the due date for filing and payment of a Kentucky inheritance tax return has been extended from eighteen (18) months to twenty-four (24) months after the date of death. The five percent dis count on payment will be permitted if the payment is received within 14 months. 7 Fur ther, nieces and nephews, including those of the half-blood, are now considered Class A beneficiaries ( i.e. tax exempt). 8

The changes brought to the Kentucky pro bate process should offer privacy benefits to clients and additional flexibility in the administration of estates. However, practi tioners should be aware of the substantial changes contained in the updates related to intestate succession, and to the calculation of a surviving spouse’s statutory share. ESTATE PLANNING SB 50 also brings several critical updates to the world of estate planning. These changes, by and large, offer practitioners several useful tools to integrate into their skillset and increase offerings to clients. SB 50 codifies a version of the Uniform Electronic Wills Act (“EWA”). The EWA provides for the remote online creation, execution, and documentation of Last Wills and Testaments. The requirements for exe cution remain quite rigorous: Two witnesses must contemporaneously witness the sign ing, even if on a video call; these witnesses must be located in the Commonwealth and remain in the Commonwealth for a reason able period of time. 9 Further, the signatures by all parties must be either handwritten, or images of the individual’s handwritten signature. A will that is properly executed online can be made self-proving if it is executed before a Kentucky notary public authorized under KRS 423.455 to perform electronic and/or remote online notarial acts. SB 50 also adopts a version of the Uniform Electronic Planning Documents Acts, which permits electronic execution of other nontestamentary documents includ ing: powers of attorney, trust agreements, and advance directives. 10 Properly followed, these acts will increase access to estate plan ning across the Commonwealth. However, it is not hard to imagine that misuse of these two acts may create opportunities for fraud. SB 50 updates the framework for both the creation and administration of trusts in Kentucky. SB 50 codifies three new areas of trust governance. First, SB 50’s version of Uniform Directed Trust Act outlines how a fiduciary, such as a trust director, may

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