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HB 434KENTUCKYSession 2026RSState Billdead

Did Not Advance

Kentucky House Bill 434 Permits Family Members to Request Posthumous Name Changes in Cases Involving Homicide

Original title: AN ACT relating to posthumous name changes.

Last action · January 28, 2026: to Judiciary (H)Sponsors: Vanessa Grossl and 2 others

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

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What This Bill Proposed

HB 434 allows family members to request a for a deceased relative whose last name resulted from marriage to an individual arrested or charged with an intentional, knowing, or offense causing the deceased person's death.

Why it matters

Provides family members of homicide victims a legal mechanism to alter a deceased relative's married surname through the District Court, excluding the surviving spouse from exercising this right.

Who It Would Have Affected

Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Family members of a deceased person

Family members gain the legal right to petition the District Court for a posthumous name change for a deceased relative under specific criminal circumstances.

Directly affected

District Court

District Courts are authorized to process and adjudicate petitions for posthumous name changes submitted by eligible family members.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is eligible to request a posthumous name change under HB 434?

A family member of the deceased person, following the priority list established in KRS 367.93117, except that a surviving spouse is explicitly excluded from this right.

What condition must be met regarding the spouse for a posthumous name change to occur?

The deceased person's name must be a result of marriage to a person arrested for or charged with the intentional, knowing, or commission of an offense that resulted in the death of the deceased.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

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Where This Stands

This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.

Procedural history

2 actions

Jan 28, 2026HouseCommittee
to Judiciary (H)
Jan 20, 2026HouseIntroduced
introduced in House to Committee on Committees (H)

Version history

Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.

View official text →

Lobbying Activity

No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.

Full breakdown

Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.

Connected Entities

District Court, General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky

OrganizationDistrict Court“The court authorized to handle name change petitions”Map →

OrganizationGeneral Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky“The legislative body enacting the bill”Map →

Sources

Open source document

apps.legislature.ky.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance20
Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 40)
Controversy15
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz20
Current news / social attention level

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