Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: Kentucky charges $50.00 to probate an estate in district court, plus a $20.00 court technology fee, before any other required fees such as a court facility fee or library fee.
If a trust could save your estate this fee in Kentucky
A living trust avoids probate entirely in Kentucky, which means the estate skips the $50.00 above along with every other cost the court charges once a case is open. LawDepot builds a state-specific one.
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What Kentucky charges to open probate
This is a flat fee in Kentucky: $50.00 is what it costs whether the estate is worth $40,000 or $4,000,000.
| District-court probate fee | $50.00 |
| Court technology fee | $20.00 |
| Subtotal of the two fees above, before other required fees | $70.00 |
Where this money goes and who sets it
The authority for this figure is Ky. R. Civ. P. (CR) 3.03(1)(c), (m), as amended by Supreme Court of Kentucky Order 2026-15. In the source’s own words: “Where the case involves the probate of an estate, the fee shall be $50.00”
What this fee doesn’t cover
Because Kentucky’s fee is flat, it doesn’t rise as the estate grows, but it also doesn’t shrink for a small, simple estate the way a percentage-based state’s fee would. Either way, this is the court’s own charge just to open the file and issue letters, separate from what an attorney charges to actually handle the estate and separate from any state estate or inheritance tax the estate itself might owe.
Sources
Source: Ky. R. Civ. P. (CR) 3.03(1)(c), (m), as amended by Supreme Court of Kentucky Order 2026-15.