Union County Probate Records
Kentucky Court of Justice materials say District Court handles probate of wills. Circuit Court handles contested probate matters, real-property title disputes, injunctions, appeals, and other higher-level matters. In Union County, both court channels run through the Office of Circuit Court Clerk at the Courthouse Annex. The County Clerk is a separate office and handles recorded instruments such as wills, affidavits of descent, deeds, liens, and estate-related real-property documents.
That division is important for estate research. A court probate file may show the petition, order admitting a will, appointment of a fiduciary, inventory, bond, claims, accountings, and settlements. A County Clerk record may show a recorded will, affidavit of descent, deed, release, or lien tied to estate property. When land, heirs, title, or recorded will copies matter, check both the court file and the County Clerk recording system.
Union County Probate Terms
Probate records use a few terms that affect which office to contact and what document to request. The definitions below keep the common terms plain and tied to Union County research.
- Testator
- The person who made a will.
- Executor
- The person named in a will to carry out estate duties after appointment.
- Intestate
- Dying without a valid will, which can require administration under Kentucky law.
- Fiduciary
- A person appointed to manage estate or guardianship duties.
- Guardianship
- A court arrangement for decision-making or care, often involving a minor or vulnerable adult.
- Conservatorship
- A court arrangement focused on managing another person's property or finances.
Search Union County Probate Records
Start with the document type. A will being probated, estate petition, appointment order, inventory, or accounting points to District Court. A will contest, real-property dispute, or appeal may involve Circuit Court. A recorded will, affidavit of descent, deed, or lien points to the County Clerk. Online recorded-document access is through eCCLIX, while court case file access starts with the Circuit Court Clerk.
- Identify whether the needed record is a court probate file, a contested court matter, or a County Clerk recorded instrument.
- Contact Union District Court through the Circuit Court Clerk for probate of wills and estate-opening questions.
- Contact Union Circuit Court through the same clerk if the estate is contested or tied to higher court litigation.
- Search County Clerk records for wills, affidavits of descent, deeds, liens, and estate real-property instruments.
- Ask the holding clerk for certified copies when the record must be used for title, banking, court, or official proof.
- For older probate files, ask whether the file is local, archived, or destroyed under retention schedules.
Union County Probate Contacts
The probate contact list should reflect the split between court probate files and County Clerk recordings. District Court is the routine probate court. Circuit Court is the contested probate channel. The County Clerk holds recorded instruments and provides in-office access and eCCLIX search paths.
Union District Court Probate Jurisdiction
121 South Morgan Street, P.O. Box 59
Morganfield, KY 42437
270-389-0800
Probate of wills and District Court probate matters.
Union Circuit Court
121 South Morgan Street, P.O. Box 59
Morganfield, KY 42437
270-389-1811
Contested probate, title disputes, injunctions, and appeals.
Union County Clerk
100 West Main Street, P.O. Box 119
Morganfield, KY 42437
270-389-1334
Recorded wills, affidavits of descent, deeds, liens, and open-records requests.
Union County Probate Fees
The probate fee table below uses the probate-related County Clerk recording fees found in the research. The court probate filing fee was not confirmed in official Union County sources, so District Court or Circuit Court filing costs should be verified with the Circuit Court Clerk before filing. County Clerk recording fees are useful when the estate record is a will, affidavit, renunciation, disclaimer, power of attorney, or certified recorded copy.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Will | $47.00 plus $3.00/page after 5 pages. |
| Will disclaimer | $46.00 plus $3.00/page after 5 pages. |
| Will renunciation | $46.00 plus $3.00/page after 5 pages. |
| Affidavit of descent | $50.00 plus $3.00/page after 5 pages. |
| Power of attorney | $50.00 plus $3.00/page after 5 pages. |
| Certified copy | $5.00 plus $0.50/page after 3 pages. |
| Court probate filing | Confirm with the Circuit Court Clerk before filing. |
Union County Estate Records
Probate records can include more than a will. A Union County estate file may include a petition or application to probate a will or administer an estate, an order admitting the will, an order appointing a fiduciary, a fiduciary bond, an inventory and appraisement, notice to creditors, claims against the estate, settlement or accounting, and final orders. Real-estate transfers may create separate County Clerk records.
- Will filed or proved through District Court.
- Petition or application to open the estate.
- Order admitting a will or appointing a fiduciary.
- Inventory, appraisement, accounting, and settlement records.
- Creditor notices and claims against the estate.
- Deeds, affidavits of descent, liens, or releases tied to estate property.
- Contested will filings, motions, orders, transfers, or appeals in Circuit Court.
Union County Clerk Probate Records
The County Clerk's role is not the same as the probate court's role. The Clerk records documents that affect title, notice, or public recording, including wills listed in the clerk's land-record categories. In-office public access is available at no charge. eCCLIX provides online recorded-document access, with a private citizen path for Union County residents using the service for personal reasons and a commercial subscription path for business research.
The County Clerk's open-records policy requires written requests with the requester's name, address, signature, and a description of the records. Requests may be hand-delivered, mailed, or faxed to 270-389-9135. Emailed requests are not accepted. The clerk makes a determination within three working days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, and may withhold exempt material under KRS 61.878.
Older Union County Probate Files
Older probate files may not be in the local office. KCOJ says the court clerk can identify whether a record is in the clerk's office, at a record facility, or destroyed under retention schedules. If the file is at the State Records Center and available for public access, the clerk provides case and file locator numbers. Those locator numbers are required for the KDLA records request.
Do not send a blind name search to the State Records Center. KCOJ warns that storage-center records cannot be searched by name or Social Security number. The local clerk is the first step because the clerk knows the case number, location, availability, and whether the file is public.
Note: Probate researchers often need both a certified court order and a certified recorded instrument for estate or title work.
Restricted Union County Probate
Probate files are often more open than juvenile, adoption, or mental-health matters, but access is not unlimited. Guardianship, conservatorship, mental-health, minor, protected address, financial account, medical, and sealed materials can be restricted or redacted. A public docket entry does not mean every document in the file can be copied.
When a probate record is restricted, ask the clerk what can be inspected, what can be copied, and whether a court order is needed. For recorded instruments, the County Clerk may redact or withhold exempt information under Kentucky public-record rules. For court probate files, the judge's order and court confidentiality rules control access.