Woodford County Probate Court Records
Probate in Woodford County is split by Kentucky court jurisdiction. District Court handles probate of wills and routine probate matters. Circuit Court handles contested probate matters. The Woodford Circuit Court Clerk is still the practical records office because the clerk manages District Court and Circuit Court records in Woodford County. The office is at the Woodford County Courthouse Annex, 130 Court Street, Versailles, Kentucky 40383, and the listed phone number is 859-873-3711.
The local schedule is unusually useful for probate users. The Woodford Kentucky Court of Justice page lists District Court Civil, Small Claims and Probate on the second and fourth Wednesday at 1 p.m. That schedule should be checked against the notice in the file or the docket portal because dockets can change. If a will contest, fiduciary dispute, title dispute, or other contested matter develops, Circuit Court involvement may follow because Circuit Court hears contested probate matters in Kentucky.
Woodford District Court Probate
130 Court Street
Versailles, KY 40383
859-873-3711
Probate of wills and routine probate matters
Woodford Circuit Court
130 Court Street
Versailles, KY 40383
859-873-3711
Contested probate matters
Woodford County Probate Terms
Probate records use terms that are easy to confuse. The short definitions below reflect common probate-file language and the glossary concepts in the Woodford research. They help distinguish the person who died, the person who manages the estate, and the court process used when minors or incapacitated adults are involved.
- Testator
- A person who made a will before death.
- Executor
- A person named in a will to carry out the will and manage the estate after appointment.
- Intestate
- Dying without a valid will, which changes how heirs and administration are handled.
- Fiduciary
- A person appointed to manage an estate or another person's property under court authority.
- Guardianship
- A court arrangement for personal decision-making for a minor or incapacitated adult.
- Conservatorship
- A court arrangement for managing another person's financial affairs.
Search Woodford County Probate Records
Probate access channels in Woodford County include KYeCourts public case information, the Kentucky Court of Justice docket portal, in-person or phone contact with the Circuit Court Clerk, older-file requests through a state records facility when the clerk provides locator numbers, and County Clerk records for related land or power-of-attorney documents. None of those channels is a single complete probate database. The right channel depends on whether the user needs a docket date, a case entry, a certified copy, or a related county recording.
- Decide whether the matter is routine probate of a will, guardianship, conservatorship, estate administration, or a contested probate dispute.
- Check KYeCourts public case information if the goal is to locate a public case entry.
- Use the KCOJ docket portal with Woodford County, District division, and the expected date when checking the probate docket.
- Contact the Woodford Circuit Court Clerk for certified copies, older files, file location, or records that do not appear online.
- For deeds, estate-related land transfers, powers of attorney, or other recorded county instruments, check the Woodford County Clerk or eCCLIX instead of the probate case file.
Note: The research did not verify a local will-safekeeping deposit option, so that service should not be assumed.
Woodford County Probate Docket Fields
The probate docket uses the same Kentucky Court of Justice docket system described in the court-record research. For Woodford probate matters, select Woodford County, choose District as the division for routine probate, enter the date, and review the docket warning. The portal warns that dockets are not official final case status and are subject to change.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Options / Format Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| County | Dropdown | Yes | Select Woodford. |
| Division | Dropdown or radio-style control | Yes | Select District for routine probate docket checks. |
| Date | Date | Yes | Use the expected probate docket date or hearing date. |
| Courtroom | Dropdown | No or unspecified | ALL is visible by default. |
| Subdivision | Dropdown | No or unspecified | ALL is visible by default. |
| Submit | Button | Yes | Generates docket results. |
Woodford County Probate Record Contents
Typical Woodford County probate records include wills, petitions to probate, orders admitting or rejecting wills, appointment of executor or administrator, fiduciary bonds, inventories, appraisements, creditor notices, claims, settlements, accountings, and closing orders. The court record may also show the decedent, estate number, fiduciary, will status, inventory, claims, and orders. Because the research did not capture a live sample probate record, these fields should be read as a researched content inventory, not as a promised portal display.
| Record item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Will or petition | Starts the probate request or presents the claimed testamentary document. |
| Appointment order | Shows who has authority to act for the estate. |
| Fiduciary bond | Documents security required for estate administration when applicable. |
| Inventory or appraisement | Lists estate property and values submitted to the court. |
| Creditor notices and claims | Tracks claims against the estate and notice steps. |
| Settlement, accounting, or closing order | Shows estate administration progress and final court approval. |
Woodford County Probate Filing Fees
The Woodford research did not verify a probate-specific filing fee schedule or certified-copy amount. It did verify general court payment methods and the fact that court records may require clerk guidance. That means a probate page should not invent dollar amounts for original probate applications, letters testamentary, guardianship applications, or certified copies. The Circuit Court Clerk should confirm current filing costs, copy costs, and payment requirements before filing or ordering records.
| Item | Verified detail |
|---|---|
| Probate filing fee | Amount not verified in the Woodford research; confirm with the Circuit Court Clerk. |
| Certified probate copy | Amount not verified in the Woodford research; confirm with the Circuit Court Clerk. |
| Court fines, fees, and costs | Cash, local check, cashier's check, certified check, money order, credit cards, and debit cards are listed for court payments, with a fee for cards. |
| Older record retrieval | May require case and file locator numbers supplied by the clerk for State Records Center or KDLA requests. |
Woodford County Estate Records
Not every estate-related document is in the probate case file. The County Clerk keeps land records, deeds, powers of attorney, easements, mortgages, and related county records. Estate property transfers, recorded powers of attorney, or deed activity may therefore appear in County Clerk records or eCCLIX, while petitions, wills, appointment orders, claims, and accountings remain probate court records. Keeping that split clear saves time because Woodford County has a separate County Clerk and Circuit Court Clerk structure.
The federal PACER court records page is the source image for the federal records distinction that sometimes comes up in estate-related litigation or bankruptcy questions.
PACER is not the Woodford probate search tool; it applies to federal court records, while local wills and estates begin with Kentucky trial-court records.
Restricted Woodford County Probate Records
Probate files can include sensitive information. Guardianship and conservatorship records may contain medical, capacity, financial, or minor-related material. Juvenile records are confidential under KRS 610.340, and adoption files are sealed or digitally restricted under KRS 199.570. Those rules matter when probate, guardianship, adoption, or family issues overlap in a court file.
Public-record access also has limits under Kentucky law. KRS 61.872 addresses inspection rights and written requests, while KRS 61.878 lists exemptions. Court records have court-specific custody rules, so the clerk remains the best source for whether a Woodford County probate record is public, redacted, sealed, stored elsewhere, or available only by court order.
Marriage records can be relevant to heirs and surviving spouses, but they are held by a different office. The Woodford County marriage and divorce records page explains that County Clerk and Circuit Court Clerk split.