Trimble County Probate Courts
Kentucky places probate of wills in District Court and contested probate matters in Circuit Court. The Kentucky District Court source says District Court handles probate of wills. The Circuit Court source says Circuit Court handles contested probate matters. In Trimble County, both routes begin at the Trimble County Courthouse through the Circuit Court Clerk, Stacy M. Bruner. District Court is scheduled Tuesday at 9 a.m., while Circuit Civil is scheduled first Friday at 9 a.m. and third Thursday at 9 a.m.
That split is important for Trimble County probate records. A routine will or estate administration may be handled in District Court. A contested will, dispute over estate property, or related civil issue may move into Circuit Court. The County Clerk has a separate role for recorded documents, including a will recording fee, but the County Clerk is not the probate court.
Trimble County District Court Probate
30 Highway 42 East
Bedford, KY 40006
District Court: 502-255-3525
District Court schedule: Tuesday at 9 a.m.
Trimble County Circuit Court
30 Highway 42 East
Bedford, KY 40006
Circuit Civil: 502-255-3213
Contested probate and civil matters.
Trimble County Probate Terms
Probate records use terms that are easy to mix up with general land, family, or civil records. These definitions keep the court record and the County Clerk recording role separate.
- Testator
- The person who made a will.
- Executor
- The person named to carry out the will after court appointment.
- Intestate
- Dying without a valid will, which can change the estate process.
- Guardian
- A person appointed to make personal decisions for a minor or incapacitated adult.
- Conservator
- A person appointed to manage financial affairs.
- Contested probate
- A dispute over a will, estate, appointment, property, or related claim that may require Circuit Court action.
Search Trimble County Probate Records
Probate access uses several channels. Public case information may appear through KYeCourts. Docket dates may appear through the Kentucky docket search. Certified copies and older files start with the Circuit Court Clerk. The County Clerk may help with recorded wills or related recorded documents, and eCCLIX may help with land-record documents within available image dates.
- Start with KYeCourts guest access for public case information if the probate case appears in the statewide system.
- Use KCOJ docket search for a court date, selecting TRIMBLE and District or Circuit division.
- Call the Circuit Court Clerk at 502-255-3525 for District probate questions or 502-255-3213 for Circuit Civil questions.
- For older records, ask the clerk for case and locator numbers before using the State Records Center or Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives route.
- For a recorded will or estate-related land document, contact the County Clerk or use the County Clerk land-record channel.
The County Clerk links land records to eCCLIX, which is a successful probate-page manifest image. eCCLIX is not the probate court, but it may matter when an estate record has a recorded land document or a recorded will connection.
For Trimble County probate records, eCCLIX should be treated as a related recording tool, not as a substitute for the court file.
Trimble County Probate Record Contents
A probate file may contain a will admitted to probate, petition or application for probate, order appointing an executor or administrator, oath and bond, inventory and appraisal, creditor notices and claims, receipts, accountings, final settlement, distribution orders, guardianship filings, conservatorship filings, and contested pleadings. The specific contents depend on whether the case is a simple estate, guardianship, conservatorship, or contested matter.
| Record field | What it may show |
|---|---|
| Case number | The court case number needed for clerk and older-record requests. |
| Decedent or ward | The person whose estate, guardianship, or conservatorship is involved. |
| Petitioner | The person asking the court to open probate or appoint a fiduciary. |
| Appointment order | The order naming executor, administrator, guardian, or conservator. |
| Inventory and claims | Estate property, creditor claims, and accounting information if filed. |
| Contested pleadings | Disputes that may move into Circuit Court. |
Trimble County Probate Fees
The research located some County Clerk recording and copy fees, but not every District or Circuit probate filing fee. Because KCOJ warned of civil filing fee changes effective July 1, 2026, court filing fees not found in official Trimble sources are left for clerk confirmation.
| Item | Source / amount |
|---|---|
| District/Circuit probate filing fee | Not located in official Trimble sources reviewed |
| Will recording with County Clerk | $47 minimum on County Clerk recording-fee table |
| Certified court copy | Not located in official Trimble court sources reviewed |
| County Clerk noncommercial copy if not statutory | $0.50 per copy under Clerk open-records policy |
Older Trimble County Probate Records
KCOJ and the local Trimble page describe an older-record process. Records that are 15 to 35 years old are requested from the State Records Center by submitting the form to state.records@ky.gov, but case and locator numbers must be provided by the county clerk's office that handled the case. Records that are 36 or more years old are requested from the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. For cases filed on or after January 1, 1978, case and locator numbers must be supplied.
The federal court images assigned to this probate page do not hold Trimble County probate files, but they help show the boundary between local probate and federal records. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky handles federal civil and criminal cases, not local estate administration.
Federal district court is not the custodian for Trimble County probate records, so estate searches should stay with state court and county recording channels.
The Western District court locations page is relevant only when a separate federal case exists.
Location pages can help with federal matters, but the Trimble County Circuit Court Clerk remains the starting point for probate case copies.
Probate and Bankruptcy Boundaries
Probate, federal civil cases, and bankruptcy can involve the same family or property, but they are different records. Local probate handles wills, estates, guardianships, conservatorships, appointments, and contested estate issues. Federal bankruptcy is handled by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Kentucky. PACER and federal CM/ECF are not the right route for a Trimble County probate file.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Kentucky is included in the manifest for context.
Bankruptcy records may affect an estate, but they do not replace Trimble County probate records filed in Kentucky courts.
CourtListener can be a free legal-search tool for opinions and some docket material.
CourtListener is not the official custodian for Trimble County probate records, but it can help with legal research around related published decisions.
Restricted Trimble County Probate Records
Many probate records are public, but not all content is open. Guardianship, conservatorship, mental-health, medical, minor, financial-account, protected-address, and sealed materials may be restricted or redacted. District Court also handles voluntary and involuntary mental commitments, which are not ordinary public records. If a record is sealed or restricted, the public search route may show little or no detail.
For related family records, such as divorce files that affect an estate, Trimble County marriage and divorce records explains the County Clerk and Circuit/Family Court split.