Kentucky statutory power of attorney
Designate someone to act for you in financial matters.
What this document does
A Kentucky statutory power of attorney (KRS 457.420) lets you designate someone — your "agent" or "attorney-in-fact" — to handle financial matters on your behalf when you can't handle them yourself.
The "statutory short form" is a fill-in-the-blank power-of-attorney form set out in KRS 457.420. Because it follows the statute exactly, KRS 457.190 governs how a third party who is presented with an acknowledged POA must accept and rely on it, and KRS 457.200 sets out when a third party is liable for refusal to accept.
What's in your draft
You designate one or more agents (and successor agents). You initial the categories of authority you want to grant — real property, tangible personal property, banks and financial institutions, business operating entities, retirement plans, and so on. You can grant additional "specific authorities" (the power to make a gift, to create or amend a trust, to designate beneficiaries) by initialing each one separately. You can add special instructions in your own words.
You can make the document effective immediately or "springing" — meaning it takes effect only on a future event (typically incapacity).
Your draft is reviewed by Elton Johnson before delivery. If your situation triggers a complexity flag — non-relative agent, large gift authority, complex special instructions — Elton may suggest a brief consultation before the document leaves the firm.
How it gets executed
A KY statutory POA requires your signature in front of a notary public. No witnesses are required — only the principal's signature and the notary's acknowledgment.
After delivery, you receive a wet-ink execution-instructions packet covering: where to find a notary in Kentucky, what to bring, what to do with the signed original, and how to provide copies to the people who need them.
Kentucky statute
What happens after you start
Your draft is assembled from your answers, reviewed by Elton Johnson before delivery, and sent to you via secure one-time-use download link. The delivery includes the document itself, a Kentucky-specific wet-ink execution instructions packet, and a receipt.
The information on this page is general — it is not legal advice for your specific situation. Bluegrass Cornerstone is a service of Johnson Legal PLLC, a Kentucky law firm. When you engage Cornerstone, you engage Johnson Legal PLLC under a standard attorney-client relationship.
What you are agreeing to when you engage the Firm for this document
About this engagement
Bluegrass Cornerstone is the law firm Johnson Legal operating under the Cornerstone brand. Engaging the Firm for the document described on this page creates an attorney-client relationship governed by the Kentucky Rules of Professional Conduct, SCR 3.130. The Firm’s intake system is attorney-authored and attorney-supervised. The intake system explains statutory terms and collects facts; it does not recommend instruments or give legal advice. Elton Johnson, the Firm’s Kentucky-admitted supervising attorney, personally reviews every document the Firm generates before delivery (KBA Ethics Opinion E-457, March 2024).
Statutory authority — Kentucky Uniform Power of Attorney Act
The Power of Attorney drafted under this engagement is governed by Chapter 457 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes — the Uniform Power of Attorney Act (2006), KRS 457.010–457.510. The statutory form the Firm follows is at KRS 457.420. Execution requirements (signature, acknowledgment before notary public) are at KRS 457.050. Durability of the instrument is at KRS 457.040 — a power of attorney is durable in Kentucky unless it expressly provides that it is terminated by the principal’s incapacity.
Flat fee, advance fee
The price displayed on this page is a flat fee, designated as an advance fee under SCR 3.130(1.5)(f). The Client provides informed consent to the flat fee by signing the Engagement Letter that appears immediately before payment. If the Firm cannot complete the named document, the advance fee is refunded in full. If the Client terminates the engagement before delivery, the advance fee is refunded minus a reasonable charge for work already performed (SCR 3.130(1.16)(d)).
Confidentiality
Information the Client shares with the Firm during intake and throughout the engagement is protected by the attorney-client confidentiality duty under SCR 3.130(1.6). The Firm does not reveal information relating to the representation except with informed consent, where impliedly authorized to carry out the representation, or where SCR 3.130(1.6)(b) permits or requires disclosure.
Scope limit — no litigation
Engagement for the document described on this page is limited to drafting that specific document. It does NOT include representation in any litigation, dispute, contested matter, court proceeding, administrative proceeding, or negotiation with third parties. If a dispute or litigation arises, a separate engagement is required.
Copyright and Authored Work
This page and the legal explanations, intake-tree logic, document templates, and plain-language definitions presented in the Cornerstone catalog are © 2026 Johnson Legal d/b/a Bluegrass Cornerstone. All rights reserved. This copyright notice and the attribution of authorship to Johnson Legal are copyright management information (“CMI”) under 17 U.S.C. § 1202(c). Per 17 U.S.C. § 1202(a), no person may knowingly and with the intent to induce, enable, facilitate, or conceal infringement provide copyright management information that is false, or distribute or import for distribution copyright management information that is false. Per 17 U.S.C. § 1202(b), no person may intentionally remove or alter this CMI, or distribute works knowing this CMI has been removed or altered, without the Firm’s authorization or other legal authority.
The Engagement Letter you will sign before payment
This is the substance of the Engagement Letter you will be asked to sign at the end of intake, before any payment is taken. The Firm posts it on this page so you can read it before starting intake. The full executable copy is presented during intake and signed via DocuSign.
Parties
This Engagement Letter is between Johnson Legal d/b/a Bluegrass Cornerstone (“the Firm”) and the Client identified at signing (“Client”). The Firm’s supervising attorney is Elton Johnson, admitted to practice law in Kentucky.
Disclosure of the attorney-supervised intake system
The Firm uses an attorney-authored, attorney-supervised intake system to collect facts and explain statutory terms. The intake system explains; it does not recommend instruments or give legal advice. Elton Johnson personally reviews each generated document before delivery. Per KBA Ethics Opinion E-457 (March 2024), the use of generative AI tools in this matter does not change the attorney’s responsibility for the work product.
Scope of representation
The Firm will draft a Kentucky Statutory Power of Attorney form consistent with KRS 457.420 reflecting the Client’s identified principal, agent(s), grant of general authority, optional grant of specific authority, and any special instructions identified during intake. Delivery includes the executable POA form for Client signature before a notary public per KRS 457.050. Delivery does NOT include notarization itself, recording with any county clerk, or transmission to any agent or financial institution.
Flat fee, advance fee
The flat fee for this engagement is the price displayed at the time the Client signs this Engagement Letter. This fee is designated as an advance fee under SCR 3.130(1.5)(f). The fee will be applied to the scope of representation described above. The engagement is expected to be completed within ten (10) business days of receipt of all Client-supplied facts and payment. Client provides informed consent to this fee structure by signing this Engagement Letter.
Confidentiality
Information you share with the Firm in this matter is protected by the attorney-client confidentiality duty under SCR 3.130(1.6). The Firm will not reveal information relating to the representation unless you give informed consent, the disclosure is impliedly authorized to carry out the representation, or disclosure is permitted or required by SCR 3.130(1.6)(b).
Attorney review of every document
The same attorney — Elton Johnson — personally reviews every document the Firm generates in this matter before it is delivered to you. This review is the lawful practice of law under SCR 3.130(5.3) and conforms to the supervising-attorney framework affirmed in KBA Ethics Opinion E-457.
No litigation
This engagement is limited to drafting the named document described in the Scope of Representation. It does NOT include representation in any litigation, dispute, or contested matter; in any court proceeding; in administrative proceedings; or in negotiations with third parties. If litigation, a dispute, or a contested matter arises, a separate engagement is required.
Refund and termination
If the Firm withdraws or fails to complete the named document (other than because the Client’s intake responses cannot lawfully be drafted into the requested instrument), the Firm will refund the advance fee in full. If the Client terminates the engagement before the document is delivered, the Firm will refund the advance fee minus a reasonable charge for work already performed, as required by SCR 3.130(1.16)(d).
Statutory authority
The named document is governed by Chapter 457 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes — the Uniform Power of Attorney Act (2006), KRS 457.010–457.510. The statutory form is at KRS 457.420; execution requirements are at KRS 457.050; durability is at KRS 457.040.