Kentucky Revised Statutes
Ky. Rev. Stat. § 394.090 (2026)
Nonrevocation of will by marriage of testator
✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases:
SyfertCases citing this section
KY-LRCapps.legislature.ky.gov
JustiaChapter on Justia
CornellLII Search
CasesGoogle Scholar
A will shall not be revoked by the marriage of the person who made the will. Effective: July 15, 1998 History: Amended 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 408, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1998. -- Amended 1988 Ky. Acts ch. 90, sec. 4, effective July 15, 1988. -- Amended 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 18, sec. 1. -- Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. sec. 4832.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10
cases, 1944–2010 · leading case: Ladd v. Ladd, 323 S.W.3d 772 (Ky. Ct. App. 2010).
Ladd v. Ladd, 323 S.W.3d 772 (Ky. Ct. App. 2010). “Pursuant to the law at the time that the parties were married, the parties’ marriage revoked the Will under KRS 394.090 and, therefore, nothing would pour over into the Trust by virtue of the Will.”
Wides v. Wides' Ex'r, 184 S.W.2d 579 (Ky. Ct. App. 1944). “020, creating a dowerable estate for the surviving widow by providing that she shall have an estate for her life in one-third of all the real estate of which her husband was seized in fee simple during coverture and an absolute estate in one-half of the surplus personalty left…”
Welsh v. Robison, 702 S.W.2d 455 (Ky. Ct. App. 1986). “— No will or codicil, or any part thereof, shall be revoked, except: (1) As provided in KRS 394.090; [marriage] (2) By subsequent will or codicil; (3) By some writing declaring an intention to revoke the will or codicil, and *456 executed in the manner in which a will is…”
Knott v. Garriott, 784 S.W.2d 603 (Ky. Ct. App. 1989). “” The sole issue brought before us is whether a marriage, subsequently annulled, serves to revoke a will under KRS 394.090. We hold it does not. The decision of the circuit court is affirmed.”
Duvall v. Garrett, 457 S.W.2d 263 (Ky. Ct. App. 1970). “Judgment was entered in circuit court holding that under KRS 394.090 the remarriage of testator after the execution of his will operated to invalidate the will.”
Dawson v. Dawson's Adm'x, 272 S.W.2d 666 (Ky. Ct. App. 1954). “KRS 394.090. On this appeal the children maintain that the writings created valid trusts.”
Griffith v. Lunney, 187 S.W.2d 431 (Ky. Ct. App. 1945). “and the appellee were not husband and wife when the will was executed, and that the subsequent admittedly valid marriage revoked the will by reason of KRS 394.090 which is as follows: “Every will shall be revoked by the marriage of the person who made the will, except a will…”
Boner's Adm'x v. Chesnut's, 317 S.W.2d 867 (Ky. Ct. App. 1958). “The argument that Chesnut’s first will was revoked by KRS 394.090 upon his subsequent marriage overlooks the fact it is the contract, and not the will, which could not be revoked.”
Riggins v. Floyd, 189 S.W.3d 147 (Ky. Ct. App. 2005). “This law was amended by the General Assembly in 1998, and at the time of Rig-gins’s death in 2002, the amended version of KRS 394.090 provided that “a will shall not be revoked by the marriage” of the testator.”
Murphy v. Henry, 225 S.W.2d 662 (Ky. Ct. App. 1949). “Under KRS 394.090 a will is revoked by a subsequent marriage except under certain circumstances.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.