Deed Preparation & Real Property Transfer
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ESTATE PLANNING — REAL PROPERTY
Kentucky Deed Preparation and Real Property Transfer
For most Kentucky families the house is the largest thing they own and the piece the plan most often gets wrong. A deed is two or three pages, it looks simple, and the words on it decide whether your home passes to your spouse automatically or spends a year in probate.
Kentucky is unusual in ways that matter here. It abolished the automatic right of survivorship between joint owners. It has no transfer-on-death deed for real property, despite four attempts to create one. And its Medicaid estate recovery rule reaches further than the national advice assumes. A deed drafted on national assumptions can fail in all three ways at once.
We prepare and record Kentucky deeds as part of an estate plan and as standalone matters: adding or removing an owner, funding a trust, creating a life estate, correcting a defective deed, or transferring property after a death. This page explains what Kentucky requires and where deeds go wrong.
Not sure what your deed actually says? Bring it in. Call (502) 348-2108 for a free consultation with attorney Thomas Hamilton.
What Deed Preparation Involves
Deed preparation is the drafting, execution and recording of the instrument that transfers an interest in Kentucky real property. It includes identifying the correct current owner from the existing record, choosing the form of deed that accomplishes what you actually want, drafting the language, and recording it with the county clerk where the property sits.
The work that matters most happens before drafting. We read the recorded deed, confirm the source of title, and check how the property is presently held, because the assumption people carry about their own deed is wrong often enough that we never take it on faith.
A deed is not reversible once recorded. Transferring property to a child, in particular, is a decision with tax, creditor and Medicaid consequences that can be severe and permanent, which is why we talk through the consequences before anything is signed.
Three Things Kentucky Does Differently
If you take nothing else from this page, take these. Each one contradicts what a national article or an online deed form will tell you, and each one costs Kentucky families money every year.
Survivorship is not automatic in Kentucky
Kentucky abolished the common law right of survivorship. Under KRS 381.120, when a joint owner dies their interest descends to their heirs or passes under their will, subject to debts and to dower or curtesy. It does not vest in the surviving co-owner. Survivorship exists only where the instrument says so, and KRS 381.130 preserves it where it manifestly appears from the tenor of the instrument that the share of the one dying should belong to the others. In practice that means express language: as joint tenants with right of survivorship and not as tenants in common. A Kentucky deed to two people that simply names them creates a tenancy in common, and half the house goes through probate.
Kentucky has no transfer-on-death deed
This is worth stating plainly because so much online material assumes otherwise. There is no Kentucky TOD or beneficiary deed for real property and no statute to cite for one. Bills failed in 2018, 2023 and 2024, and Senate Bill 34 in the 2026 session, the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, passed the Senate in March 2026 and died in House committee. Kentucky does allow transfer-on-death registration for securities and payable-on-death bank accounts, but real property is the gap. To pass Kentucky land outside probate you need a survivorship deed, a life estate deed, or a funded revocable trust.
The third difference concerns Medicaid, and it is the one most likely to cause harm, so it has its own section below.
The Deeds We Prepare
Survivorship deed
Adds the express survivorship language Kentucky requires so the property passes directly to the surviving owner without probate. The most common correction we make for married couples.
Deed into a revocable living trust
Funds Kentucky real property into a trust so it avoids probate and, where you own land in more than one state, avoids a separate ancillary probate there.
Life estate deed
Transfers the remainder interest to your children while you keep the right to live in and control the property for life. Useful in Medicaid transfer planning, though not for the reason most people expect. See the section below.
Deed to an irrevocable trust
Where long-term care protection is the goal, the property is deeded to a properly drafted irrevocable trust. Timing drives whether this works. See trusts and asset protection trusts.
Corrective deed and affidavit
Fixes a defective legal description, a misspelled name, a missing consideration certificate or absent survivorship language. Kentucky allows correction by affidavit under KRS 382.337 in appropriate cases.
Deeds after a death
Affidavit of descent, deed of distribution from an estate, and transfers out of a trust after the grantor death. These pair with probate and estate administration.
Life Estate Deeds and Kentucky Medicaid Recovery
A life estate deed is a legitimate and useful Kentucky planning tool. It is also the subject of the most persistent piece of bad advice we encounter, and we would rather correct it here than have a family rely on it.
The national claim is that because a life estate passes outside probate, it escapes Medicaid estate recovery. That is true in some states. It is not true in Kentucky as the regulation is written. 907 KAR 1:585 defines estate to include not only probate property but all property in which the recipient had legal title or interest at death, to the extent of that interest, whether it passed to a survivor or heir through joint tenancy, tenancy in common survivorship, life estate, living trust or other arrangement.
Kentucky adopted the expanded definition and named life estates in it specifically. So a life estate deed should not be presented to you as a way to defeat Kentucky estate recovery, and if someone has told you it does, that advice was written for a different state.
What a life estate deed does do is start the clock on a transfer for Medicaid look-back purposes and move the remainder interest out of your ownership at a discounted value. Those are real benefits, and there are situations where a life estate deed is exactly right. It is simply not the shield it is often sold as. Talk it through in the context of full Medicaid planning before you sign one.
When People Come to Us About a Deed
These are the situations that bring people in, and what usually needs to happen.
01
Adding a spouse or child to the deed
Common instinct, frequently a mistake. Adding a child as a joint owner exposes the property to that child creditors and divorce, creates a taxable gift, gives away the stepped-up basis their heirs would otherwise receive, and counts as a transfer for Medicaid purposes. We explain all four before anyone signs.
02
Discovering the deed has no survivorship language
Usually found during a plan review or, painfully, after a death. While both owners are living it is a straightforward new deed. Afterward it is a probate matter.
03
Funding a trust
The trust does not control the house until the deed says so. This is the step most often skipped when a trust is drafted without follow-through.
04
Inheriting property in Kentucky
Where a deceased owner left real property, an affidavit of descent or a deed of distribution establishes a clean chain of title. Without it the property is difficult to sell or mortgage years later.
05
A deed that will not record
County clerks reject deeds for missing consideration certificates, absent grantee signatures, incomplete addresses or defective acknowledgments. We handle the rejection and the correction.
If you are thinking about putting a child on your deed, please talk to us first. It is the most common and least reversible mistake in Kentucky estate planning. Call (502) 348-2108.
What Kentucky Requires for a Recordable Deed
Kentucky sets specific content and execution requirements, and county clerks enforce them. A deed that does not comply is rejected at the counter or, worse, recorded with a defect that surfaces years later when the property is sold.
Under KRS 382.130, a deed is admitted to record on acknowledgment before the proper clerk, or on the certificate of a county clerk or notary public that the deed was acknowledged or proved. KRS 382.135 requires the full names and mailing addresses of both grantor and grantee, a statement of the full consideration, and a sworn, notarized certificate of consideration, or where the transfer is a gift, a statement to that effect with the estimated fair cash value.
The requirement that trips people most often is that the consideration certificate must be signed by both the grantor and the grantee. A deed signed only by the person giving the property away will be rejected. Certain transfers are excepted from the consideration requirement, including utility easements, transfers in divorce proceedings, governmental rights of way, cemetery lots and corrective deeds.
Recording happens in the county where the land lies, with the applicable transfer tax paid at filing. We handle preparation, execution and recording, and send you the recorded copy.
- Full names of grantor and grantee, and the mailing address of each
- A correct legal description and the source of title reference
- Statement of full consideration, or a statement that the transfer is a gift with fair cash value
- Sworn consideration certificate signed by both grantor and grantee
- Proper acknowledgment before a notary or county clerk
- Express survivorship language, where survivorship is intended
- Preparer statement, and recording in the county where the property sits
Kentucky Deeds Prepared in Bardstown and Louisville
Thomas Hamilton has practiced in Kentucky since 2011 and concentrates on elder law and estate planning, which is the context in which most deed questions actually arise. He is a member of the Kentucky Bar Association Elder Law Section and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
We prepare and record deeds for property throughout Nelson, Bullitt, Washington, Marion, Larue, Hardin, Anderson, Spencer and Jefferson counties, working from 117 E. Stephen Foster Avenue in Bardstown and the First Trust Centre at 200 S. 5th Street in Louisville.
Bring your current deed to a free consultation and we will tell you what it actually says. Schedule a consultation or read more about our firm.
Deed Mistakes That Cost Kentucky Families
Assuming a joint deed carries survivorship
KRS 381.120 says otherwise. This is the most expensive assumption in Kentucky property law, and it is usually discovered at the funeral home, not the closing table.
Planning around a transfer-on-death deed
Kentucky does not have one. Four bills have failed since 2018, most recently SB 34 dying in House committee in March 2026. A plan built on a Kentucky TOD deed is built on nothing.
Adding a child as joint owner to avoid probate
It exposes your home to your child creditors and any divorce, makes a reportable gift, and forfeits the step-up in basis your children would otherwise receive at your death. There are better tools for the same goal.
Believing a life estate deed defeats estate recovery
907 KAR 1:585 names life estates specifically among the interests Kentucky can reach. The deed may still be the right tool, but not for that reason.
Using an online deed form
Generic forms omit the Kentucky consideration certificate, omit the grantee signature, use survivorship language that does not meet the KRS 381.130 standard, or carry a legal description copied incorrectly. Recording rejections are the good outcome; a recorded defective deed is the bad one.
Transferring the house and forgetting the mortgage
Most mortgages contain a due-on-sale clause. Transfers into a revocable trust are generally protected by federal law, but a transfer to a child is not, and the lender can call the loan.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Common Questions About Kentucky Deeds
Does Kentucky have a transfer-on-death deed?
No. Kentucky has no transfer-on-death or beneficiary deed for real property. Legislation to create one failed in 2018, 2023 and 2024, and Senate Bill 34 in 2026 passed the Senate but died in House committee. Kentucky does permit transfer-on-death registration for securities and payable-on-death designations for bank accounts, but not for land. To pass Kentucky real property outside probate you need a survivorship deed, a life estate deed, or a funded revocable trust.
If my spouse and I are both on the deed, does the house automatically pass to the survivor?
Only if the deed expressly says so. Kentucky abolished automatic survivorship in KRS 381.120, so a deed naming two owners without survivorship language creates a tenancy in common and the deceased owner half passes under their will or to their heirs. We read the recorded deed rather than assume.
Should I put my child on my deed to avoid probate?
It is rarely the right answer. Adding a child as joint owner exposes the property to that child creditors and divorce, creates a reportable gift, counts as a transfer for Medicaid look-back purposes, and gives up the step-up in basis your children would otherwise receive. A trust or a properly drafted survivorship or life estate deed usually accomplishes the goal without those consequences.
Will a life estate deed protect my home from Medicaid estate recovery in Kentucky?
Not on its own. Kentucky uses an expanded definition of estate under 907 KAR 1:585 that expressly reaches property passing through a life estate, joint tenancy or living trust. A life estate deed can still be useful for transfer and valuation purposes in Medicaid planning, but it should not be relied on to defeat Kentucky estate recovery.
What does a deed have to contain to be recorded in Kentucky?
Among other things, the full names and mailing addresses of grantor and grantee, a correct legal description and source of title, a statement of consideration or of gift with fair cash value, and a sworn consideration certificate signed by both grantor and grantee under KRS 382.135, properly acknowledged under KRS 382.130. Missing the grantee signature on the certificate is one of the most frequent reasons a Kentucky deed is rejected.
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Have Your Deed Read Before It Matters
A deed takes minutes to review and can save your family a year of probate. Bring yours to a free consultation with attorney Thomas Hamilton. Call (502) 348-2108 or use the form below.
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117 E. Stephen Foster Avenue, Bardstown, KY 40004