Kentucky has rules. We name them.
Most online estate-planning products advertise "50-state coverage." That sounds reassuring; in practice it means generic forms that don't cite the statute that governs your document. Below is what Kentucky law actually requires.
How a Kentucky will is signed.
Kentucky's will-execution rule is in KRS 394.040. A will must be signed by the testator (the person making the will), or by another person at the testator's direction in the testator's presence. The testator's signature must be made or acknowledged in the presence of at least two witnesses, who sign in the testator's presence and in the presence of each other.
- KRS 394.040Two witnesses, in person, present at signing. Kentucky does not allow electronic wills. Remote online notarization is not permitted for wills.
- KRS 394.225Self-proving affidavit option. A will can be made "self-proving" by signing a sworn affidavit before a notary at the same time the will is witnessed. This skips a probate-court step later.
- KRS 394.300Court-deposit option. You can deposit your original signed will with the district court for safekeeping during your lifetime. Most people don't know this; the kit's signing-instruction packet walks you through whether it's right for you.
The kit drafts a Kentucky-format will and the optional self-proving affidavit. The signing-instruction packet covers the witness rules and the court-deposit option in plain language.
How a Kentucky durable POA works.
Kentucky adopted the Uniform Power of Attorney Act in 2018, codified at KRS Chapter 457. The Act includes a statutory short-form (KRS 457.420) — a checklist of authority categories you can grant or withhold.
- KRS 457.420The statutory short-form. A checklist of authority categories: real property, banking, retirement, taxes, healthcare claims, gifts, etc. The kit follows this form so the document reads cleanly to Kentucky banks and state agencies.
- KRS 457.030Durability presumption. A Kentucky power of attorney is presumed durable — meaning it stays in effect if you become incapacitated — unless the document expressly says otherwise.
- KRS 457.100Notarization required. The signature must be acknowledged before a notary public.
- KRS 457.230Co-agents and successors. Kentucky lets you name multiple co-agents or successors. The kit asks whether they act independently or jointly.
How a Kentucky advance directive works.
Kentucky's living-will and healthcare-surrogate framework is at KRS 311.621–643. The statute sets out the form, the execution rules, and the authority a healthcare surrogate holds.
- KRS 311.625Form of the directive. Kentucky recognizes a Living Will Directive that combines a living will and a healthcare-surrogate designation in one instrument. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services publishes a template; the kit follows it.
- KRS 311.625(2)Execution — two options. Sign before two adult witnesses (who cannot be named as your surrogate or as a beneficiary of your estate), OR sign before a notary public. The kit's signing-instruction packet walks you through both options.
- KRS 311.629Surrogate authority. A surrogate can consent to or refuse medical treatment on your behalf if you're unable to decide. The statute names the decision-priority hierarchy when no surrogate is designated.
- KRS 311.633Revocation. You can revoke a directive at any time, in any way that communicates the revocation, regardless of mental or physical condition.
State law is not a 50-state generic.
A national service that ships the same forms in every state is, by definition, generic. Kentucky's witness rules, self-proving affidavit, court-deposit option, statutory POA checklist, and advance-directive framework are not the same as Indiana's, Tennessee's, or Ohio's. The kit is built specifically for Kentucky residents executing Kentucky documents.
If your matter touches another state — out-of-state property, a beneficiary in another jurisdiction, a contested estate spanning state lines — the kit isn't the right shape. Engage Johnson Legal directly for those matters.