Search Bourbon County Probate Records

Bourbon County Probate Court Records

In Kentucky, probate of wills is a District Court matter. The Kentucky Court of Justice District Court overview lists probate of wills among District Court jurisdiction, and the Bourbon County court schedule groups probate with small claims and district civil matters. The practical local office is the Bourbon County Circuit Court Clerk at the Bourbon County Judicial Center, 310 Main Street, Paris, Kentucky 40361, phone 859-987-2624. That is the starting point for probate case files, probate hearing questions, certified copies from a probate proceeding, and older court files.

Bourbon County probate records can include a will, petition or application to probate, order admitting a will, appointment of executor or administrator, guardian or conservator documents, bond, inventory, creditor notices, claims, accountings, settlement papers, renunciation, and orders. Some estate-related instruments may also appear in County Clerk records after probate or when recording is required. That split is important because a court file and a recorded will book entry serve different purposes.

Bourbon County Probate Terms

Probate records use short legal terms that can make an estate file hard to read. These terms identify who died, who has authority to act, whether a will controls the estate, and whether the matter involves an adult estate or a protection case for a minor or adult who needs help managing property.

Testator

The person who made a will.

Executor

The person named in a will to carry out estate duties after appointment by the court.

Administrator

A fiduciary appointed when there is no executor available or no valid will controls the estate.

Intestate

Dying without a valid will, so Kentucky succession rules may control distribution.

Guardianship

A court case for authority over personal decisions for a minor or protected person.

Conservatorship

A court case for authority over property or financial affairs of a protected person.

Search Bourbon County Probate Dockets

The Kentucky Court of Justice docket search is the online public tool for checking a Bourbon County probate docket date. Select Bourbon as the county and District as the division, then choose the date. The local schedule in the research lists probate with small claims and district civil on the second Tuesday at 1:30 p.m., but dockets can change. The docket is not the full probate case file.

Older Bourbon County probate records may be stored away from the active clerk counter. KCOJ says the local clerk gives case and file locator numbers if a record is at a record facility. Those stored records cannot be searched by name or Social Security number through the state records center without the locator numbers.

Bourbon County Recorded Probate Documents

The Bourbon County Clerk online records page is valuable for estate-related recorded instruments. It explains that eCCLIX is used for Kentucky county clerk records and can help with title follow-up, estate settlements, and appraisals. It also gives specific guidance for wills. A Kentucky probate court certificate is required with an authenticated copy of a will and certificate of probate from the resident state before recording in the county clerk's office. The page also describes recording an out-of-state will that was probated and recorded in another Kentucky county when an attested or certified copy of the will and order of probate from the original county clerk is presented.

The Kentucky County Clerks Association recording-fee page is the statewide recording-fee source identified in the manifest.

Recording-fee research matters for probate because will-related instruments may need County Clerk recording after the court proceeding.

Renunciation has its own rule. The Bourbon County Clerk online-records research says renunciation shall be made within six months after probate. It must be acknowledged before the county clerk and recorded with the county clerk in the county where probate was made, or acknowledged before a subscribing witness or attorney and proved or notarized before recording. The clerk requests a return mail address, and renunciations are filed in the Will Book and indexed under the deceased name.

Bourbon County Probate Records in eCCLIX

eCCLIX is not the court probate case file. It is the internet version of CCLIX for county clerk records archived in Kentucky county clerk offices. The Bourbon County Clerk page states that attorneys, title search personnel, surveyors, and realtors use CCLIX, and it specifically mentions estate settlements as a use. That makes eCCLIX a strong tool for recorded will-related documents, real estate transfers tied to estates, and recorded instruments that affect title.

The eCCLIX public site is assigned as a Bourbon County probate records image source.

For probate research, the public eCCLIX path should be used for recorded instruments rather than court orders or hearing minutes.

The commercial eCCLIX channel is meant for users who are in the business of researching documents and may need multi-county access. The private user channel is limited to Bourbon County records, no commercial gain, no charge, and five searches per day. If the question is whether an estate petition was filed or an order was entered, use the Circuit Court Clerk. If the question is whether a will, renunciation, deed, mortgage, or related instrument was recorded, use the County Clerk or eCCLIX.

The commercial eCCLIX site is a separate subscription route for higher-volume searches.

The commercial channel is relevant for title, estate settlement, and appraisal work that goes beyond a single personal search.

How Bourbon County Probate Moves

A Bourbon County probate matter starts by identifying the type of case: will probate, estate administration without a will, guardianship, conservatorship, or a related District Court matter. Contact the Circuit Court Clerk before relying on an online search because the clerk is the official case-file starting point. The local schedule places probate with small claims and district civil on the second Tuesday at 1:30 p.m., subject to court changes.

1. Gather the decedent name, date of death if known, will status, and any case number or prior filing date.
2. Call or visit the Bourbon County Circuit Court Clerk to confirm filing, hearing, and certified copy requirements.
3. Use KCOJ docket search for the public court date if a hearing date is needed.
4. File the petition or application and original will when required by the clerk and court.
5. Attend the probate hearing if the court requires an appearance.
6. Obtain certified copies of orders or fiduciary appointment from the Circuit Court Clerk.
7. Record any required will-related document, deed, or renunciation with the County Clerk.

Bourbon County Probate Fees

Probate fee research has a current gap. The inspected Bourbon sources did not publish Bourbon-specific probate filing fees or certified-copy fees. KYeCourts also posted that civil filing fees for Circuit and District Courts increase effective July 1, 2026 under Kentucky Supreme Court Orders 2026-15 and 2026-18. Because Bourbon probate uses District Court jurisdiction, fee amounts should be confirmed with the Circuit Court Clerk before filing or quoting a price.

Note: Do not treat a private eCCLIX search as proof that no probate case exists, because eCCLIX is a county clerk recording system.

Restricted Bourbon County Probate Records

Most adult estate filings are public in some form, but probate-adjacent records can include restricted material. Guardianship, conservatorship, mental health, juvenile, sealed, and minor-related records may be limited or redacted. Financial account numbers, Social Security numbers, medical facts, and protected family information should not be expected in a public copy. The clerk can explain whether a record is public, redacted, sealed, or available only by court order.

For marriage and divorce certificates that arise in estate work, the Bourbon County marriage and divorce records page separates County Clerk marriage records from Circuit and Family Court divorce files.