Kentucky: Revocable Living Trust Creation Requirements

Requirements one by one

Governing law and scope

The official Kentucky code index labels KRS Chapter 386B the Uniform Trust
Code. KRS § 386B.1-010 defines the covered trust as an express fiduciary
arrangement for a named or described beneficiary and expressly includes oral
trusts. This page stays with an ordinary adult revocable inter vivos trust,
not Kentucky statutory trusts or specialized asset-protection, benefits, or tax
arrangements.

Settlor capacity and intent

KRS § 386B.6-010 borrows the will-capacity standard for creating, amending,
revoking, funding, or directing a revocable trust. Under KRS § 394.020, that
means sound mind and age 18 or older. KRS § 386B.4-020 separately requires the
settlor to indicate an intention to create the trust; capacity alone does not
supply that intent.

Creation method and effective time

KRS § 386B.4-010 supplies three routes: transfer property to another trustee,
declare that the owner holds identifiable property as trustee, or exercise a
power of appointment in favor of a trustee. The declaration route permits the
owner to begin as trustee without a transfer to someone else.

If another person is designated trustee, acceptance is a separate statutory
question. KRS § 386B.7-010(1) recognizes substantial compliance with the trust's
method; if that method is absent or not exclusive, accepting delivery,
exercising powers, performing duties, or otherwise indicating acceptance can
work.

Trust property and funding

The owner's declaration must identify the property. KRS § 386B.1-010(13) defines
property broadly as anything subject to ownership, legal or equitable, or an
interest in it. Neither that definition nor § 386B.4-010 states a universal
minimum dollar corpus.

That rule does not move every asset merely because a trust document exists.
The declaration can cover property the owner already holds, while an asset
placed with another trustee may still need the deed, assignment, delivery, or
account change applicable to that property.

Beneficiary and purpose

KRS § 386B.4-020 ordinarily requires a definite beneficiary, while preserving
the chapter's separate charitable, animal-care, and noncharitable-purpose
exceptions. It also validates a trustee's power to select from an indefinite
class, subject to failure if the power is not exercised within a reasonable
time.

For purpose, KRS § 386B.4-040 requires the trust to be lawful, consistent with
public policy, possible to achieve, and for its beneficiaries' benefit.

Trustee eligibility and same-person roles

The creation elements in KRS § 386B.4-020 require real duties for the trustee
and prohibit the same person from being both sole trustee and sole beneficiary.
Together with § 386B.4-010's owner-declaration method, that permits a settlor
to serve as trustee and to hold a beneficial interest when another beneficiary
interest or another trustee prevents complete identity of the sole roles.

Instrument, signature, witness, and notary

KRS § 386B.4-070 says a trust need not be evidenced by an instrument unless a
different statute requires one, but an oral trust and its terms demand clear
and convincing proof. When the settlor uses a written trust instrument,
§ 386B.1-010 defines that instrument as signed by the settlor. Chapter 386B
does not add a universal witness or notarization step to those ordinary rules.

Real property is the important form exception. KRS § 382.010 requires a deed
or will to convey an inheritance, freehold, or term longer than one year. A
trust instrument should not be treated as a substitute for the separate deed
needed to transfer a home.

Revocability default and reserved power

KRS § 386B.6-020(1) makes a trust revocable unless its terms expressly say it is
irrevocable, but excludes a trust created under an instrument signed before
July 15, 2014. The statute allows substantial compliance with the trust's own
method. If the instrument supplies no method or a nonexclusive one, a qualifying
later will or codicil, or another method proving intent by clear and convincing
evidence, may revoke or amend.

Registration, recording, and third-party effect

KRS § 386B.2-010 says a trust is not under continuing judicial supervision
unless a court orders it. KRS § 386B.2-050(1)'s opening registration language has
a decisive exception: registration does not apply to an inter vivos or
testamentary, revocable or irrevocable trust unless the settlor directs it.
When directed, the trustee files an identifying statement in District Court;
the stated consequence of failing to register is broader personal jurisdiction
in a beneficiary's pre-registration proceeding, not failure of trust creation.

KRS § 386B.10-120(1) separately lets a trustee give a certification of trust to a
nonbeneficiary instead of the whole instrument, and protects specified good-
faith reliance. For a home, KRS § 382.080 protects purchasers and creditors
through acknowledgment or proof and lodging the deed for record in the proper
office. Certification and deed recording serve different purposes.

What trips people up

Kentucky's registration section initially says the trustee "shall register,"
but the same subsection turns that duty off unless the settlor directs
registration. Reading only the opening sentence produces the opposite answer.

The July 15, 2014 cutoff also matters. The statutory default of revocability
does not govern a trust created under an instrument signed before that date;
the older instrument and applicable prior law need separate review.

Incapacity does not appear in KRS § 386B.6-020 as an automatic switch that
makes the trust irrevocable. Instead, subsections (5) and (6) regulate whether
an expressly authorized agent, or a conservator, guardian, or curator with the
required court approval, may exercise the settlor's powers.

Common questions

Can my agent revoke or amend the trust for me?

Only to the extent the trust terms or power of attorney expressly authorize
the agent under KRS § 386B.6-020(5). A conservator, guardian, or curator follows
the separate court-approval rule in subsection (6), unless the trust terms
provide otherwise.

Must I show a bank or buyer the whole trust document?

Not necessarily. KRS § 386B.10-120 permits a trustee to provide a certification
containing specified facts, including the trustee's identity and powers,
revocability, and manner of taking title. A particular asset transfer can still
require its own instrument and formalities.

Statutes and sources

• KRS § 386B.1-010 — definitions of property, trust, and signed trust instrument; effective July 15, 2026. Accessed July 30, 2026.
• KRS § 386B.2-010 — court role and no default continuing supervision. Accessed July 30, 2026.
• KRS § 386B.2-050 — settlor-directed registration, contents, and jurisdictional consequence. Accessed July 30, 2026.
• KRS § 386B.4-010 and § 386B.4-020 — creation methods and elements. Accessed July 30, 2026.
• KRS § 386B.4-040 and § 386B.4-070 — permissible purpose and oral-trust proof. Accessed July 30, 2026.
• KRS § 386B.6-010, § 386B.6-020, and § 394.020 — capacity, revocability, amendment, and revocation. Accessed July 30, 2026.
• KRS § 386B.7-010 and § 386B.10-120 — trustee acceptance and certification. Accessed July 30, 2026.
• KRS § 382.010 and § 382.080 — deed form and third-party recording effect. Accessed July 30, 2026.