No will is valid unless it is in writing with the name of the testator subscribed thereto by himself, or by some other person in his presence and by his direction. If the will is not wholly written by the testator, the subscription shall be made or the will acknowledged by him in the presence of at least two (2) credible witnesses, who shall subscribe the will with their names in the presence of the testator, and in the presence of each other.
KRS 394.040
Requisites of a valid will
Applied in 29 court decisions — leading case Prichard v. Kitchen (1951)
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: June 17, 1978 History: Amended 1978 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.