Johnson County Probate Court
Johnson County does not have a separate courthouse labeled Probate Court in the research sources. The Kentucky Court of Justice Johnson County page lists probate as a District Court matter at 9 a.m. Thursday. The practical probate contact is the Circuit Court Clerk at the Johnson County Judicial Center because that office handles court case records and can advise on file location, public access, copy availability, filing requirements, and the current probate calendar.
District Court probate jurisdiction includes the probate of wills and related estate administration. Kentucky Court of Justice materials identify statewide probate forms such as AOC-805, Petition for Probate of Will and/or Appointment of Executor/Administrator; AOC-830, Petition to Dispense with Administration; and AOC-841, Inventory. Those forms are statewide, not Johnson-only packets, so local users should confirm current filing steps with the clerk before relying on a form list alone.
District Court Probate Jurisdiction
Johnson County Judicial Center
908 3rd Street, Suite 109
Paintsville, KY 41240
606-297-9567
Fax: 606-297-9573
Probate calendar: 9 a.m. Thursday
Johnson County Clerk
230 Court Street, Suite 124
Paintsville, KY 41240
606-789-2557
Email: sallee.holbrook@ky.gov
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Johnson County Probate Terms
Probate records use terms that do not appear in most civil or criminal files. A short definition check helps separate the role of a person, the type of filing, and the court action being requested.
- Testator
- The person who made a will.
- Executor
- The person named in a will to carry out estate administration after court appointment.
- Intestate
- Dying without a valid will, which can require administration under Kentucky succession rules.
- Guardian
- A court-appointed person responsible for another person's care or decisions.
- Conservator
- A court-appointed person responsible for another person's property or finances where Kentucky practice uses the term.
- Fiduciary
- A person appointed to act for an estate, protected person, or another legal interest.
Search Johnson County Estate Records
Probate research in Johnson County has two main tracks. The court track is the District Court probate case file, reached through the Circuit Court Clerk. That file may include the petition, appointment orders, estate inventories, fiduciary qualification, settlements, and other court filings. The clerk-record track is the County Clerk's recorded will and index system, where marriages and wills are indexed and scanned in CCLIX back to 1797 according to the County Clerk records page.
- Decide whether the goal is a recorded will or a court probate case. A recorded will can start with the County Clerk; a probate file starts with the Circuit Court Clerk.
- For a court file, contact the Circuit Court Clerk at the Johnson County Judicial Center and ask about District Court probate availability, file search, copies, and the Thursday probate calendar.
- For a recorded will or historical index entry, use the Johnson County Clerk records page, CCLIX/eCCLIX, or free in-office public viewing at the County Clerk office.
- Use the Kentucky docket portal or KYeCourts only as a supplemental check. The official probate file and certified copies route back to the clerk.
- Expect confidential medical, minor, guardianship, and protected personal details to be redacted or restricted.
Note: A will in the County Clerk index is not the same thing as an order admitting the will to probate.
Johnson County Probate Record Contents
Probate case records can show how an estate or protective matter moved through court. When public, a file may include a petition to probate a will, petition for appointment, proof of death, orders appointing an executor or administrator, fiduciary qualification, bond, estate inventory, appraisement, creditor notice, settlement, final accounting, guardianship or conservatorship filings, and later orders. Some items may be absent because the case type is simpler, the estate used a shorter procedure, or the material is not public.
| Record item | What it may show |
|---|---|
| Petition | Who asked the District Court to open probate, admit a will, or appoint a fiduciary. |
| Will or codicil | The decedent's written instructions if admitted, recorded, or included in the file. |
| Order of appointment | Executor, administrator, guardian, or conservator authority. |
| Inventory | Estate assets or protected-person property, subject to court and privacy limits. |
| Settlement or accounting | Receipts, disbursements, distributions, and case-closing information. |
| Restrictive order or redaction | Limits on public access to minor, medical, financial, or protected details. |
Johnson County Probate Fees
Fee timing matters for Johnson County probate filings because the research date was June 30, 2026, and a statewide fee order was scheduled to take effect the next day. Supreme Court Administrative Order 2026-15 sets the District Court civil fee for probate of an estate at $50 effective July 1, 2026. The same order lists $50 for guardianship, conservatorship, or curatorship applications not tied to a pending probate matter. Additional technology, facility, library, copy, recording, or service fees may apply.
| Item | Amount or note |
|---|---|
| Probate of an estate | $50 District Court civil fee effective July 1, 2026. |
| Guardianship, conservatorship, or curatorship application | $50 if not tied to a pending probate matter, effective July 1, 2026. |
| Will recording with County Clerk | $47 plus $3 for every page over the first five. |
| Renunciation of will | $46 plus $3 for every page over the first five. |
| Disclaimer of will | $46 plus $3 for every page over the first five. |
| Certified court copies | Confirm current amount with the Circuit Court Clerk before payment. |
County Clerk recording fees and District Court probate filing fees are different charges. A filing can involve both offices if a will is recorded and a probate case is opened.
Restricted Probate Records
Not every probate-related record is open in full. Guardianship, conservatorship, medical, minor, mental-health, financial-account, and protected-address details may be restricted or redacted. Kentucky court rules also require confidential treatment or redaction for certain personal identifiers and sensitive filed material. If a requester needs a sealed or restricted filing, the clerk may require a court order, proof of party status, attorney involvement, or another statutory basis.
Older probate research can also have practical limits. The research file did not locate Johnson County-specific small-estate threshold instructions, will-safekeeping deposit rules, or newspaper-publication requirements in official local sources. Those issues should be checked with the Circuit Court Clerk before filing. For historical wills, the County Clerk's CCLIX coverage back to 1797 is a strong lead, but image access may require account setup and software unless the search is done in person.
Johnson County Probate Sources
The Big Sandy Regional Detention Center roster frame appeared in the probate manifest even though it is not a probate court source.
It is included here because the manifest assigns it to probate records, but probate filings still route through District Court and clerk offices.
The linked JailTracker public roster is also a manifest source, not an estate-record portal.
Probate users should not use inmate tools to verify estate filings, wills, appointments, or probate orders.
The BSRDC area law-enforcement contacts page was captured as another assigned probate image source.
That source may help with law-enforcement context, but estate and guardianship records remain court or clerk records.
The BSRDC visitation page is included because it is assigned in the image manifest.
Visitation schedules do not describe probate access, so the probate access steps above rely on the Kentucky Court of Justice and clerk research.
The BSRDC commissary instructions are also an assigned manifest image.
Commissary records are unrelated to probate case contents, so no probate fee or filing claim is drawn from that page.
The BSRDC office-hours page completes the probate image set in the manifest.
For probate hours and case access, use the Circuit Court Clerk and the Kentucky Court of Justice Johnson County schedule instead.