Johnson Legal PLLC
operating as Bluegrass Cornerstone
19 Fairway Drive · Elizabethtown, KY 42701 · (502) 230-1620 · johnsonbluegrasslaw.com
Kentucky Bar № 101547

FIRST CODICIL
TO THE
LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
OF
Andrew Scott Pierce
Commonwealth of Kentucky

I, Andrew Scott Pierce, of 47 Magnolia Avenue, Louisville, KY 40206, being eighteen (18) years of age or older and of sound mind, and acting freely and without duress, declare this instrument to be the First Codicil to my Last Will and Testament dated the ________ day of ________________, 20______ (my "Will" - the exact date of my existing Will to be completed before execution).

FIRST - Prior Guardian Nomination Replaced. If my Will contains any nomination of a guardian for my minor children, that prior nomination is revoked and replaced by the nomination made in this Codicil. In all other respects my Will remains unchanged.

SECOND - Addition of Guardian Nomination Article. I amend my Will by adding the Article set out below, which shall be read as an Article of my Will.

THIRD - Republication. Except as expressly amended by this Codicil, I hereby ratify, confirm, and republish my Will in all respects, and my Will as amended by this Codicil shall constitute my Last Will and Testament.

ARTICLE - NOMINATION OF TESTAMENTARY GUARDIAN FOR MINOR CHILDREN

1. Statutory Authority. This nomination is made under KRS 387.040, which provides that the last surviving parent of a minor may by will nominate a guardian, or alternatively a limited guardian, or conservator, or both, for the minor. KRS 387.040 further provides that one (1) person or entity may be nominated to manage the minor's financial resources and another to have care, custody, and control of the minor.

2. Minor Children Covered. This nomination covers the following minor children, each identified by full legal name and date of birth:

1. Nora Jane Pierce (date of birth 2019-12-01)

3. Nomination of Primary Guardian. I nominate Katherine Pierce, of 12 Iroquois Drive, Louisville, KY 40214, the aunt of the minor child of my children, as guardian of the person of each of my children who is a minor at the time this nomination takes effect, to have care, custody, and control of each such minor child.

4. Nomination of Alternate Guardian. If the primary guardian nominated above is unable or unwilling to serve, or ceases to serve, I nominate Gregory Lawson, as alternate guardian of the person of each such minor child, with the same scope as the primary nomination.

5. Guardianship of the Estate. Once appointed by the court, a guardian has the powers, duties, and responsibilities stated in KRS 387.065; a guardian who manages the assets of the ward is subject to the duty regarding use of those assets stated in KRS 387.125. I further nominate the same person serving as guardian of the person under this Article (the primary guardian nominated above or, if the alternate guardian is serving, the alternate guardian) to manage the financial resources of each such minor child, as the second sentence of KRS 387.040 permits, whether the court styles that appointment as guardian, limited guardian, or conservator. I request that no surety be required on the bond of any guardian or conservator appointed upon a nomination made in this Article, as KRS 387.070(3)(a) provides that when the person or entity appointed was nominated pursuant to KRS 387.040 and the will of the parent making the nomination requests no surety on the bond, no surety shall be required unless the District Court deems it imprudent to dispense with surety because of a change of circumstances since the will was made or for other good cause.

6. Contingency - Last Surviving Parent. The other parent of my minor children is deceased. I make this nomination as the last surviving parent of my minor children within the meaning of KRS 387.040.

7. Statement of Preferences. None stated at intake. (This section records optional, non-binding preferences about the upbringing of my children; I have chosen not to state any in this document.)

NOMINATION, NOT APPOINTMENT - THE ROLE OF THE COURT

A testamentary nomination under KRS 387.040 is an expression of parental preference that Kentucky law directs the court to weigh. It is not itself an appointment, and no language in this document appoints a guardian. After my death, an interested person or entity (ordinarily the nominated guardian) must apply to the District Court under KRS 387.025. Under KRS 387.032, the District Court shall appoint any person or entity whose appointment would be in the best interest of the minor, taking into consideration the ability of the person or entity to manage and preserve the minor's estate, and taking into consideration the person or entity nominated pursuant to KRS 387.040 or KRS 387.050 (the latter being the nomination a minor fourteen (14) years of age or older may make for himself or herself). My nomination carries the weight the statute gives it; the appointment itself is the act of the court.

HOW THIS NOMINATION TAKES EFFECT

A nomination under KRS 387.040 is made by will. It operates through a will (or a codicil to a will) executed as Kentucky law requires. Under KRS 394.040, if the will is not wholly written by the testator, the subscription must be made or the will acknowledged by the testator in the presence of at least two (2) credible witnesses, who must subscribe the will with their names in the presence of the testator and in the presence of each other. A will or codicil may also be made self-proved under KRS 394.225 by the acknowledgment of the testator and the affidavits of the witnesses, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths; a self-proved will may be admitted to probate without the testimony of any subscribing witness.

EXECUTION AND ATTESTATION

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I, Andrew Scott Pierce, the Testator, sign my name to this instrument, consisting of __________ ( ) pages including this Execution and Attestation page, on the ________ day of ________________, 20______, and being first duly identified to the witnesses below, declare to them this instrument to be my Last Will and Testament, and sign it willingly (or willingly direct another to sign for me) in the joint presence of the two witnesses named below, who at my request and in my presence and in the presence of each other have subscribed their names as witnesses.

_____________________________________________
Andrew Scott Pierce, Testator

ATTESTATION BY WITNESSES (KRS 394.040)

The foregoing instrument was subscribed by Andrew Scott Pierce, the above-named Testator, in our joint presence, and was at the same time declared by the Testator to be the Testator's Last Will and Testament. At the request of the Testator and in the Testator's presence and in the presence of each other, we have each subscribed our names as witnesses on the date last above written. We believe the Testator to be of sound mind, eighteen (18) years of age or older, and acting freely and without duress or undue influence.

Witness 1 Signature: _____________________________________________
Witness 1 Printed Name: _____________________________________________
Witness 1 Address: _____________________________________________

Witness 2 Signature: _____________________________________________
Witness 2 Printed Name: _____________________________________________
Witness 2 Address: _____________________________________________

SELF-PROVING AFFIDAVIT (KRS 394.225)

Commonwealth of Kentucky
County of ________________________

We, Andrew Scott Pierce, the Testator, and the two witnesses whose names are subscribed below, being first duly sworn, do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that the Testator signed and executed the foregoing instrument as the Testator's Last Will and Testament, that the Testator signed it willingly (or willingly directed another to sign for the Testator), that the Testator executed it as the Testator's free and voluntary act for the purposes therein expressed, and that the Testator is eighteen (18) years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence; and we, the witnesses, do hereby declare that each of us, in the presence and hearing of the Testator and in the presence of the other subscribing witness, signed this Will as witness to the Testator's signing, and that to the best of our knowledge the Testator is eighteen (18) years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.

_____________________________________________
Andrew Scott Pierce, Testator

_____________________________________________
Witness 1

_____________________________________________
Witness 2

Subscribed, sworn to, and acknowledged before me by Andrew Scott Pierce, the Testator, and subscribed and sworn to before me by the witnesses above named, this _______ day of _____________________, 20______.

_____________________________________________ (Seal, if any)
Notary Public, Commonwealth of Kentucky
My commission expires: ________________________

Document prepared by:
Johnson Legal PLLC, operating as Bluegrass Cornerstone (registered Kentucky DBA)
Attorney of record: Durward Elton Johnson, Kentucky Bar # 101547. Prepared from testator-parent input as a testamentary guardian nomination under KRS 387.040; reviewed and approved by a Kentucky-licensed attorney before delivery per KBA Ethics Opinion E-457.

Execution Instructions - Kentucky Testamentary Guardian Nomination (KRS 387.040; execution per KRS 394.040 + KRS 394.225)

Your testamentary guardian nomination has been drafted from your intake answers. How it becomes legally effective depends on which deliverable you received: a CODICIL is itself a testamentary instrument and must be executed with the same formalities as a will (KRS 394.040); an INTEGRATION CLAUSE PACK has no legal effect until its Article is executed inside a will that satisfies KRS 394.040.

  1. Read the entire document carefully. Confirm your name, each child's name and date of birth, the primary and alternate guardian, and the guardianship-of-the-estate election are exactly right. If your deliverable is the codicil and the date of your existing will appears as a fill-in blank, that blank MUST be completed with the exact date of your existing will before you sign - a codicil that does not identify the will it amends invites a probate dispute. Do not sign anything yet.
  2. Talk with the people you nominated - primary and alternate - before any signing. Tell them what you are asking of them. The hardest part of this document is not the form; it is the conversation.
  3. IF YOUR DELIVERABLE IS THE CODICIL (you have a current Kentucky will): execute it exactly like a will. Under KRS 394.040 you sign (subscribe) the codicil at its end in the joint presence of two (2) credible adult witnesses, and each witness then signs in your presence and in the presence of the other witness - all three of you physically present in the same sitting. Choose disinterested witnesses (not beneficiaries of your will, and not the nominated guardians). The self-proving affidavit (KRS 394.225) is included by default; if you elected to omit it in intake, skip the affidavit step and the witnesses simply sign the attestation. If your codicil includes the affidavit, the same three people also execute it before a Kentucky notary public at the same sitting; a self-proved instrument may be admitted to probate without the testimony of any subscribing witness. Then store the executed codicil WITH your original will, and tell your executor where both are.
  4. IF YOUR DELIVERABLE IS THE INTEGRATION CLAUSE PACK: there is nothing to execute yet. The clause pack is not a will and not a codicil, and signing it by itself nominates no one. The Article takes legal effect only when it is executed INSIDE a will (or codicil) that satisfies KRS 394.040. If you are purchasing the Will document alongside this order, your attorney integrates the Article into that will and you execute once - the will, with the Article inside it. If you have no will yet, the Will document (a separate engagement) is typically the better path; your reviewing attorney confirms before delivery.
  5. IF YOUR EXISTING WILL WAS DRAFTED IN ANOTHER STATE: do not execute or integrate anything until your reviewing attorney has examined the out-of-state instrument. An out-of-state will may still be admissible in Kentucky, but amending it by a Kentucky codicil, re-executing it under Kentucky law, or replacing it with a new Kentucky will are different paths with different consequences - the right one depends on the instrument you have.
  6. Revisit this nomination after major life events - the birth or adoption of another child, the death or incapacity of a nominated guardian, a co-parent's death, or a move. A nomination is updated by a new properly-executed codicil or will, not by marking up the old one.

Bluegrass Cornerstone is a service of Johnson Legal PLLC, a Kentucky law firm. This document was prepared from your intake answers as a testamentary guardian nomination under KRS 387.040, and was reviewed and approved by a Kentucky-licensed attorney with Johnson Legal PLLC before delivery, per KBA Ethics Opinion E-457. Attorney of record: Durward Elton Johnson, Kentucky Bar # 101547. For questions, email support@bluegrasscornerstone.com - your message will be routed to the reviewing attorney.