After the death of the husband or wife intestate, the survivor shall have an estate in fee of one-half (1/2) of the surplus real estate of which the other spouse or anyone for the use of the other spouse, was seized of an estate in fee simple at the time of death, and shall have an estate for his or her life in one-third (1/3) of any real estate of which the other spouse or anyone for the use of the other spouse, was seized of an estate in fee simple during the coverture but not at the time of death, unless the survivor's right to such interest has been barred, forfeited or relinquished. The survivor shall also have an absolute estate in one- half (1/2) of the surplus personalty left by the decedent. Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in the statutes of this state to "dower" or "curtesy" shall be deemed to refer to the surviving spouse's interest created by this section.
KRS 392.020
Surviving spouse's interest in property of deceased spouse -- "Dower" and "curtesy" defined
Applied in 49 court decisions — leading case Sexton v. Sexton (2004)
Most recently applied in John Wesley Bays v. Kristie D. Kiphart Individually and as Trustee of the Demand Right Irrevocable Trust for Bryce A. Bays (May 2016)
Effective: July 1, 1956 History: Amended 1956 Ky
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: Kentucky General Assembly. Reproduced from public-domain Kentucky statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.