Affidavit of Heirship in Kentucky: A County Clerk Guide for Investors

Kentucky doesn't call it an "affidavit of heirship" in its statute books — it calls it an Affidavit of Descent, and the distinction matters if you're searching county clerk records for heir-property leads. Governed by KRS 382.120, this document does the same core job as an affidavit of heirship in other states: it establishes, for the public record, how real property passed to a deceased owner's heirs when there was no will and no formal probate administration of the real estate.

For investors, an Affidavit of Descent on file is a strong signal: it means a property changed hands through inheritance, outside a full probate proceeding, and the people who now hold it may not think of themselves as "motivated sellers" in the traditional sense — but they are very often sitting on an asset they didn't plan for and aren't emotionally anchored to the way the original owner was.

What an Affidavit of Descent Does Under Kentucky Law

KRS 382.120 addresses real property acquired by descent — meaning a deceased person died without a will (intestate) and their real estate passed by Kentucky's laws of intestate succession rather than through a probated will. Because there's no will to record and no deed transferring title (title passes by operation of law at the moment of death), there's a documentation gap: how does a title examiner or future buyer know who the rightful heirs are and what interest each holds? The Affidavit of Descent fills that gap. When an heir (or their successor in title) later sells or conveys the inherited property, the affidavit is recorded to supply the chain-of-title link between the deceased owner and the new grantor (Deeds.com — Kentucky Affidavit of Descent; KRS 382.120).

What the Affidavit Must Contain

Kentucky's statute and standard county clerk forms require the affidavit to include:

• The deceased owner's full name and date of death
• Marital status at death, and if married, the surviving spouse's name and mailing address
• The deceased's place of residence at the time of death
• A statement that the deceased died intestate (without a will)
• The names, ages, and addresses (as far as known to the affiant) of each heir at law and next of kin who inherited an interest in the real property
• Each heir's relationship to the deceased and the specific interest each one inherited
• A statutory preparation statement under KRS 382.335(1)

Notably, a statement of consideration or property value generally isn't required in the affidavit itself, because that disclosure is already captured in the deed when the property is later sold (per Kentucky Attorney General Opinion OAG 91-165, referenced in county clerk guidance such as the Kenton County Clerk's Affidavit of Descent guidance). The affiant's signature must be notarized under KRS 382.130.

Who Files It and Where

In practice, the affidavit is typically prepared by an heir, a title attorney, or a title company handling a later sale, and signed by someone with personal knowledge of the family — often a surviving spouse, adult child, or close relative of the deceased. It is filed with the County Clerk in the Kentucky county where the real property is located, the same office that records deeds and other real estate instruments; Kentucky's 120 counties each maintain their own clerk's office and deed records, so an affidavit affecting property in Fayette County is recorded there, not in Franklin County where it might have been drafted.

Kentucky title practice generally treats an Affidavit of Descent recorded close in time to when it's relied upon as more reliable, since memories of family relationships and informal estate settlements fade — many title examiners and attorneys look for the affidavit to be recorded reasonably close to the subsequent conveyance, though the statute itself doesn't set a hard filing deadline. For investors, that means an affidavit recorded years after the death, right before a sale, is a very common and legitimate pattern — it simply means the heirs are only now moving to sell.

How Investors Use This Record Type

Affidavits of Descent are indexed alongside deeds in the County Clerk's real property records, which makes them searchable the same way a deed is — by grantor/grantee name or by parcel. Because the affidavit names every heir and their relationship to the deceased, it's a uniquely useful document for investors: it tells you not just that a property is heir-owned, but exactly who the decision-makers are and how the ownership is split. A property split among four siblings with no clear point person is a very different outreach situation than one inherited outright by a single adult child.

Investors building a Kentucky inherited-property pipeline typically pull recent Affidavit of Descent filings county by county, cross-reference them against property tax records to confirm the parcel hasn't already sold, and then reach out to the named heirs. That's the same underlying workflow behind our affidavit of heirship property owner lists, which aggregate and skip-trace these filings so you're not manually pulling county clerk indexes one county at a time.

How Kentucky Compares to Other States

The underlying concept — a sworn statement identifying heirs to clear title without full probate — is common across many states, but the name, required contents, and filing office vary. Texas and Georgia, two of the most heavily used affidavit-of-heirship markets, have their own statutory forms and procedures, covered in our guides to Affidavit of Heirship Lists and how investors use affidavits of heirship to find inherited property deals. For a side-by-side on when this shortcut applies versus full probate, see Affidavit of Heirship vs. Probate: When Investors Can Skip the Court Process.

A Note on Kentucky's Dower and Curtesy History

Kentucky is also one of a small number of states with a legal history involving dower and curtesy interests for surviving spouses, which can complicate who held what interest in older intestate successions. While modern Kentucky law has largely modernized spousal inheritance rights, title examiners working older chains of title sometimes still encounter these historical interests, which is one more reason a Kentucky-specific title review matters before relying on any affidavit.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Kentucky's version of an affidavit of heirship called?

Kentucky law refers to it as an Affidavit of Descent, governed by KRS 382.120. It serves the same function as an affidavit of heirship in other states: establishing how intestate real property passed to a deceased owner's heirs.

Where is a Kentucky Affidavit of Descent filed?

It is filed with the County Clerk in the Kentucky county where the real property is located, the same office that records deeds and other real estate instruments.

What information must a Kentucky Affidavit of Descent include?

It must include the deceased's name and date of death, marital status, place of residence at death, a statement that they died intestate, and the names, ages, addresses, relationships, and inherited interests of each heir, with the affiant's signature notarized under KRS 382.130.

Who can sign a Kentucky Affidavit of Descent?

Kentucky's statute does not restrict the affiant to a specific family role; in practice it is typically signed by someone with direct personal knowledge of the family, such as a surviving spouse, adult child, or close relative, since the affidavit relies on that personal knowledge.

Why do investors look for recorded Affidavits of Descent in Kentucky?

Because the affidavit names every heir, their relationship to the deceased, and their inherited interest, it tells investors exactly who the decision-makers are on an inherited property — valuable information before reaching out about a potential purchase.

This article is for general, educational purposes and is not legal advice. Laws and procedures vary by county and change over time — consult a licensed attorney or title professional about a specific property.