KENTUCKY BAR EXAM DISTINCTIONS — ONE-PAGE CHEAT SHEET
Condensed companion to the Kentucky Bar Exam Distinctions long outline.
1. EXAM FORMAT
· UBE state · two-day exam: 2 MPT + 6 MEE on the written day, 200-question MBE on the other · weighting MBE 50% / MEE 30% / MPT 20% · single portable score, max 400 · minimum passing 266 · MPRE required · no separate Kentucky-law exam · MEE/MPT are NCBE-drafted national law (UCC, FRCP, FRE, ABA Model Rules) · essays test national law unless a Kentucky instruction appears — never volunteer a Kentucky rule.
2. CIVIL PROCEDURE & LIMITATIONS
· Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure (CR) govern state court (MEE CivPro is federal) · SOL (KRS ch. 413): general personal injury 1 yr (very short — the headline trap!) · motor-vehicle injury 2 yrs under the no-fault MVRA (KRS ch. 304.39), running from injury or last basic-reparation-benefit payment · oral contract 5 yrs · written contract 15 yrs (instruments executed before mid-2014) / 10 yrs (executed on or after July 15, 2014) · always ask first whether the injury arose from motor-vehicle use.
3. EVIDENCE
· Kentucky Rules of Evidence (KRE) mirror the FRE in structure and numbering — assume FRE answer · recognized privileges: attorney-client, spousal, clergy, counselor/psychotherapist-patient · differences are mostly phrasing + a few privilege contours · default to FRE on the MEE, cite parallel KRE provisions in practice.
4. CONTRACTS
· Tracks national common law + UCC (KRS ch. 355) · bargained-for consideration required · no civil-law "cause," no lesion (contrast Louisiana) · conventional Statute of Frauds (KRS 371.010) · no exam-significant divergence.
5. FAMILY LAW
· Equitable distribution under the UMDA (KRS ch. 403), NOT community property · classify each asset as marital (presumptively divisible) vs nonmarital (premarital, gifts, inheritances, exchanges for nonmarital — restored to owner), then divide marital estate in "just proportions" without regard to misconduct · NO common-law marriage (contrast Iowa/Kansas) · maintenance under the UMDA two-part need standard · 2018 statutory presumption of joint custody + equal parenting time (Kentucky a national leader).
6. WILLS & ESTATES
· Will = writing + testator signature + 2 witnesses subscribing in testator's presence (KRS 394.040) · HOLOGRAPHIC WILLS VALID — wholly in testator's handwriting + signed, no witnesses needed (opposite of Iowa/Kansas) · spousal protection via DOWER/CURTESY (KRS ch. 392) — ≈½ life estate in realty owned during marriage + ½ surplus personalty; surviving spouse may renounce the will and take dower/curtesy — NOT a UPC augmented-estate elective share.
7. REAL PROPERTY
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