At a glance
| TOD / beneficiary deed | Not available |
|---|---|
| Instrument | None — not available for real property |
| Governing law | No TOD-deed statute — Kentucky has NOT enacted the URPTODA (no KRS ch. 394B in the current code); confirm with the county clerk |
| Community-property state | No |
Why Kentucky has no TOD deed
Kentucky does not currently authorize transfer-on-death (beneficiary) deeds for real property. Despite a widely repeated claim online that Kentucky adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act at 'KRS 394B.010 to 394B.170, effective 2020,' that chapter does not appear in the official Kentucky Revised Statutes — the KRS index runs from Chapter 394 (Wills) directly to Chapter 395 (Personal Representatives), with no Chapter 394B. There is no enacted Kentucky TOD-deed statute in the current code.
The legislative record confirms this: bills to create the act have been introduced repeatedly and have not become law — for example, HB 94 (2018) was introduced and died in committee, and further bills relating to transfer of property on death have continued to be filed in later sessions (e.g., 2023 and 2026). Repeated re-introduction is a strong signal that the law has not passed.
Accordingly, a deed drafted to transfer Kentucky real estate to a named beneficiary effective at death is not a recognized non-probate instrument. Owners who want to avoid probate for Kentucky real estate should work with an attorney licensed in Kentucky on other tools.
What to use instead
Because Kentucky offers no transfer-on-death deed, families keep a home out of probate with other tools. Common alternatives include:
- Revocable living trust holding the real estate
- Joint tenancy with right of survivorship (with explicit survivorship language)
- Traditional life estate deed (irrevocable remainder)
- Probate administration (if no non-probate tool is used)
Mortgages, Medicaid & community property
Existing mortgages and liens
Not applicable to a TOD deed, since none exists in Kentucky. Under whatever alternative an owner uses (trust or survivorship deed), the recipient still takes the real estate subject to existing mortgages, tax liens, and other encumbrances — those debts are not erased by the method of transfer.
Medicaid estate recovery
Because Kentucky offers no TOD deed, probate-avoidance for real estate is usually handled through trusts or survivorship ownership, which interact differently with Medicaid. Medicaid estate recovery is a serious, fact-specific issue; confirm any plan with the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family services / Department for Medicaid services and an attorney or elder-law professional licensed in Kentucky. This record does not assert a specific recovery scope.
Community property
Kentucky is a common-law (separate-property) state. Kentucky is a common-law (non-community-property) state, so there is no community-property survivorship option. With no TOD deed available, married owners typically rely on joint tenancy with right of survivorship or a revocable trust to pass real estate outside probate. (Kentucky requires specific survivorship language to create a right of survivorship, so title drafting matters.)
State-specific quirks
The 'KRS 394B / effective 2020' claim is a myth
Many law-firm blogs and form vendors state that Kentucky enacted a TOD deed 'codified at KRS 394B.010 to 394B.170, effective 2020.' The official KRS index (verified 2026) contains no Chapter 394B. Do not rely on a Kentucky TOD deed — it is not part of the current code.
Repeated bills, none enacted
Kentucky's legislature has introduced URPTODA-style bills across multiple sessions (2018 HB 94 died in committee; further bills followed in 2023 and 2026). A proposed effective date in a bill is not law until the bill is enacted and codified — which, as of mid-2026, has not happened.
Where to read next
- Kentucky estate & inheritance tax — whether Kentucky taxes what you leave behind, and the small-estate probate ceiling, each figure cited to the statute.
- The Executor & Heir’s Guide — the probate deadlines for Kentucky, cited to the controlling statute.
- Funding a revocable trust — a common way to keep many kinds of property out of probate.
- ← Back to the transfer-on-death deed comparison
Sources & methodology
Methodology & sources
We could not confirm a primary-source transfer-on-death deed statute for Kentucky at the time of writing, so the availability above is flagged rather than cited — check it with the county recorder or an attorney licensed in Kentucky. Where this layer does cite a statute, the citation links the controlling statute — an official legislature source where available, or a third-party codified mirror of the state code otherwise; deed-form vendors and aggregator round-ups are not cited. State property and probate law changes every legislative session; this page carries the date it was last re-verified. See our editorial standards.
This page is educational and is not legal advice. Whether a transfer-on-death deed is right for you — and whether it survives Medicaid estate recovery, a mortgage’s due-on-sale clause, or a co-owner’s survivorship right — turns on facts a general page cannot resolve. Confirm your own situation with an attorney licensed in Kentucky.
Last verified July 26, 2026.