Senate Bill 50 Impacts Every Practitioner - by Ruth H. Baxter, Crawford & Baxter, P.S.C.

On July 14, 2026, hundreds of bills enacted by the Kentucky General Assembly go into law, with none more impactful than Senate Bill 50. The 147-page Bill amends Kentucky’s descent of real estate in intestacy to allow certain surviving spouses to claim the entirety of the decedent’s land, together with one third (1/3rd) of real estate the decedent owned in fee simple during the marriage, even if not owned at death, as part of the statutory dower/curtesy scheme of KRS 392.020. A surviving spouse’s right to one-half (1/2th) of the surplus personalty left by the decedent remains intact; however, ‘surplus personalty’ is now statutorily defined to include non-probatable assets, including assets with beneficiary designations such as retirement accounts; life insurance policies; accounts payable on death, and all property held by or payable at the decedent’s death in certain trusts. Further, a new cause of action is created for a surviving spouse to sue persons receiving such ‘surplus’ real property or personal property from the decedent during their marriage as is necessary to satisfy the dower or curtsey claim of the surviving spouse.

Personal representatives of a decedent’s estate are now charged with preparing a general financial disclosure statement of the property of a decedent, which exceeds current requirements for an ‘inventory', and includes both probatable and non-probatable assets, and their respective values. The disclosure statement is to be sealed by the Clerk, with copies available to the Court, the personal representative and their attorney, a beneficiary or heir-at-law, and/or by Order of the Court with ‘good cause shown’. Both the application for probate and the financial disclosure statement are now being signed by the personal representative under penalty of perjury. Additional requirements under the statutory revisions require personal representatives to execute a new oath outlining their duties, reminding the representative that they are subject to being removed for failing to comply with the law and their duties. The filing of estate inventories is extended to ninety (90) days from appointment of the personal representative, instead of the current two (2) months. A new ‘show cause’ proceeding allows the Court to conduct a hearing if the personal representative breaches his or her fiduciary duties that may result in their removal; a finding of contempt of court; and/or payment of fines or other penalties deemed appropriate by the Court.

Entitlement to inheritance and succession under Kentucky law for adopted children is also now changed. KRS 199.520 is amended to read, “For purposes of inheritance and succession, the (adopted) child shall only be deemed the child of the petitioners if the child was adopted and resided in the household of the petitioners prior to eighteen (18) years of age.”

Senate Bill 50 also creates new sections of KRS Chapter 394 dealing with Wills and Trusts. Wills, trusts, powers of attorney and other nontestamentary estate planning documents can be executed electronically by following specific guidelines set out, including being notarized via electronic means. Similarly, a new section of KRS Chapter 386 is created for trust administration procedures, creating a new position of ‘investment advisor’ who is given authority to direct, consent to, or disapprove a transferor’s investment decisions. Creditors’ claims against trusts are extinguished by law unless actions are commenced within the later of two (2) years after qualified dispositions are made, or within six (6) months after a person discovers or reasonably should have discovered the qualified disposition.

The 2025 Kentucky Uniform Trust Code, KRS 386B, also receives amendments to its provisions. New legislation allows for directed trusts and qualified asset protection trust for Medicaid recipients, as well as the creation of a new position of a ‘trust director’. Standards governing fiduciary duties, and a breach of a trust, for both the trustee and the trust director, are set out, as well as statute of limitations for bringing claims against the fiduciaries.

This summary of Senate Bill 50 is not exhaustive of its provisions, and does not substitute for an actual reading of the legislative language. However, it is clear that whether your practice includes trust and estate planning; probate counsel; real estate law, and/or litigation, this new legislation will create several heightened malpractice exposure points for many practitioners. Failing to: 1.) update all will, probate, and trust documents to reflect these changes; 2.) advise new and existing clients of the effect Senate Bill 50 will have on their estate planning; and 3.) be cognizant of new rights given to surviving spouses when examining real estate titles in both testate and intestate estates, could result in legal malpractice. Claims could then be brought, not only by clients, but also by non-client beneficiaries where the client’s testamentary intentions are thwarted by drafting errors, misunderstanding of the new law’s provisions, and/or misalignment of the client’s will, trust and nonprobate transfers through pay on death designations, as well as beneficiaries on life insurance and retirement accounts.