Current as of November 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice.
Kentucky adopted the Uniform Trust Code as Chapter 386B of the Revised Statutes, effective July 15, 2014. It made the annual report available on request rather than automatic, and it added a floor no trust instrument can remove: at least one qualified beneficiary aged 25 or older, or a fiduciary for one, must be told the trust exists.
Who must provide an accounting in Kentucky
Unless the trust terms provide otherwise, section 386B.8-130 requires the trustee to keep the qualified beneficiaries reasonably informed about the administration and the material facts they need to protect their interests, and to respond promptly to a qualified beneficiary's request for information unless that would be unreasonable.
Within sixty days after accepting a trusteeship, the trustee notifies the qualified beneficiaries of the acceptance and of the trustee's name, address and telephone number. Within sixty days after learning that an irrevocable trust has been created, or that a revocable trust has become irrevocable, the trustee tells them of the trust's existence, the settlor's identity, their right to request a copy of the trust instrument, and their right to a trustee's report. The trustee also gives advance notice of any change in the method or rate of compensation. The sixty-day notices do not apply to trusts accepted, created or made irrevocable before July 15, 2014.
On request, the trustee furnishes a qualified beneficiary a copy of the trust instrument and sends that beneficiary a report at least annually and at termination of the trust. A qualified beneficiary may waive reports and later withdraw the waiver.
Regardless of the trust's terms, the trustee must notify and report to at least one qualified beneficiary of an irrevocable trust who has reached age 25, or a person in a fiduciary relationship to a qualified beneficiary, of the trust's existence, the trustee's identity, and the right to request reports. If the trust directs the trustee to notify no one, the trustee may designate the person to notify without liability for doing so. The District Court has exclusive jurisdiction over matters under the section.
What a Kentucky trust accounting must contain
The report covers the trust property, liabilities, receipts and disbursements, including the source and amount of the trustee's compensation, and a listing of the trust assets with market values if feasible. On a vacancy with no cotrustee remaining, the former trustee sends the report. A personal representative, conservator, guardian or curator may send it for a trustee who has died or become incapacitated.
Income and principal allocation in Kentucky
Allocation is governed by the Kentucky Principal and Income Act, KRS 386.450 to 386.504, which includes a power to adjust and conversion to a unitrust.
When a Kentucky accounting is contested
Section 386B.10-050 defines a report broadly: any account statement or other written disclosure the trustee makes to the beneficiary. A beneficiary may not bring a proceeding for breach of trust more than one year after being sent a report that adequately disclosed the potential claim and told the beneficiary how long they had to bring it. A report discloses adequately if it gives enough information that the beneficiary knows of the claim or should have inquired into it.
Otherwise, the proceeding must be brought within five years of discovery of an injury by the trustee to the beneficiary's rights. Kentucky measures that period from discovery, not from the end of the trust.
How T.E.A. Fiduciary helps
We prepare Kentucky annual trustee's reports under section 386B.8-130, built to the disclosure and deadline notice that start the section 386B.10-050 one-year period. We work alongside your attorney and your tax preparer; we do not prepare tax returns.
This page provides general information about Kentucky fiduciary accounting requirements and is not legal or tax advice. Statutes and court rules change. Verify the current text before relying on any of it, and consult counsel on questions of legal interpretation.
More: the uniform framework · all state pages · our services
Primary source: Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 386B.
Written by Christina Gutman, C.P.A. — Founder and Principal of T.E.A. Fiduciary. Christina is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant by the State of California and has specialized exclusively in fiduciary accounting for over a decade, preparing trust, estate, and conservatorship accountings for law firms, professional fiduciaries, trust companies, family offices, and individual trustees nationwide. She has also served as a forensic consultant in contested accounting matters. More about Christina
