Undue influence is one of the most common — and most difficult to prove — grounds for contesting a will in Kentucky. It arises when someone in a position of trust or authority over the testator exerts pressure that overcomes the testator’s free will, resulting in a will that reflects the influencer’s wishes rather than…
When someone passes away and their will names an executor, that person is entrusted with a serious responsibility: managing the estate, paying debts, and distributing assets to beneficiaries. But what happens when the executor isn’t doing their job — or worse, is actively mismanaging the estate? Kentucky law gives beneficiaries and interested parties the right…
Losing a loved one is difficult enough without discovering that their will doesn’t seem right. Maybe the will was changed shortly before death under suspicious circumstances. Maybe a caregiver or new acquaintance suddenly appears as a major beneficiary. Maybe the person who signed the will was clearly suffering from dementia or confusion at the time….
When a parent dies and the children inherit the family home together, the stage is set for one of the most emotionally charged property disputes in Kentucky law. One sibling wants to sell. Another wants to keep the home. A third hasn’t contributed to taxes or maintenance in years but still wants their share. These…
When an executor or trustee breaches their fiduciary duty and the estate or trust loses money as a result, Kentucky law provides a specific remedy: the surcharge action. A surcharge is a court order requiring the fiduciary to personally repay the estate or trust for losses caused by their misconduct. It is the most direct…
When someone in a position of trust — a business partner, corporate officer, financial advisor, or managing member of an LLC — puts their own interests ahead of yours, that is a breach of fiduciary duty. It is one of the most powerful claims in Kentucky civil litigation because it can unlock remedies that are…
The probate accounting is supposed to be the moment of transparency — when the personal representative shows the court and the beneficiaries exactly what happened to the estate’s money. But what do you do when the numbers do not add up? When expenses seem inflated, assets appear to be missing, or the personal representative’s compensation…
When a loved one’s estate plan produces an unexpected or suspicious result, your first instinct may be to “contest the will.” But increasingly, the assets that matter most are held in a trust rather than passing under a will. Contesting a trust in Kentucky is a different legal process with different rules, different courts, and…
Discovering that a parent or loved one has left you out of their will is painful. But being disinherited does not necessarily mean you have no recourse. Depending on the circumstances, Kentucky law may provide you with legal options to challenge the will, claim a statutory share, or recover assets that were improperly transferred before…
Parents sometimes name two or more children as co-executors, thinking it will keep things fair. In practice, co-executor arrangements often create more problems than they solve. When co-executors disagree about how to administer the estate — whether to sell the family home, how to value assets, which creditors to pay, or how quickly to distribute…