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Office: Livingston County Emergency Management – 321 Court Street (also listed 216 East Adair), Smithland, KY 42081 | (270) 928-2196 or (270) 928-3177. Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4:30 PM. The agency maintains 3 rescue boats, including a 24-foot rough-water rescue vessel, given the county’s extensive waterways.
Roads: I-24 and US-60/641 serve Smithland, the county seat, in far western Kentucky at the confluence of the Cumberland, Tennessee, and Ohio Rivers.
Notes: Livingston County, formed in 1798 from part of Christian County, is named for Robert R. Livingston, a member of the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence. The county was strongly pro-Confederate during the Civil War.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Livingston County Judicial Center – Smithland, KY.
Notes: Livingston County is home to Grand Rivers, a small city at the northern gateway to Land Between the Lakes between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley, named for the nearby Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers that historically converged near the site. Grand Rivers hosts Patti’s 1880’s Settlement, one of western Kentucky’s most famous restaurant and entertainment destinations – begun in 1977 as a small motel-and-burger operation and grown into a sprawling complex known nationally for its two-inch pork chops, flowerpot bread with strawberry butter, and mile-high meringue pies, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors annually.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Livingston County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via livingstoncountyky.com.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Livingston County Public Library (Smithland) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Patti’s 1880’s Settlement and downtown Grand Rivers, along with access to Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area, are the county’s premier tourist attractions.
Notes: The genuine Patti’s 1880’s Settlement/Grand Rivers connection is one of the most visited food-tourism destinations covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Livingston County Property Valuation Administrator – confirm current contact via livingstoncountyky.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Livingston County Animal Control – PO Box 70, Smithland, KY 42081 | (270) 928-2196 or (270) 928-2105 | Fax (270) 928-3262.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Livingston County Solid Waste – confirm current contact via livingstoncountyky.com.
NOTES: Livingston County is the sixth county in Kentucky’s tenth batch under the Round 3 A+ sourced standard. The genuine Patti’s 1880’s Settlement/Grand Rivers connection is one of the most visited food-tourism destinations covered anywhere in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Livingston County County
Livingston County is western Kentucky’s Cumberland-Ohio confluence and Lake Barkley county – the historic river junction at Smithland where two great rivers meet and the Lake Barkley reservoir’s productive fishing waters define a small western Kentucky county whose river heritage and outdoor recreation anchor a quiet community between the Land Between the Lakes peninsula and the Ohio River.
Smithland (the county seat, population ~300) is Livingston County’s small governmental hub at the Cumberland-Ohio confluence, one of Kentucky’s smallest county seats – a historic river town whose strategic confluence position once made it more significant than its current size suggests.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Livingston County Property Valuation Administrator at 102 E. Main Street, Smithland, KY 42081, phone 270-928-2702. KY assessed at 100% fair cash value.
Courts & Legal
Livingston County Circuit Court at 102 E. Main Street, Smithland, KY 42081, phone 270-928-2162, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections, Marriage Licenses)
102 Court St., Smithland, KY 42081
(270) 928-2162
CIRCUIT COURT CLERK (Court Records)
102 Court St., Smithland, KY 42081
(270) 928-4241
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
102 Court St., Smithland, KY 42081
(270) 928-2162
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Livingston County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The Livingston County Courthouse and Clerk’s Offices (1845, Greek Revival/Romanesque), listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is a significant local landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Livingston County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Livingston County District Court Livingston County Justice Center, 122 West Adair Street, P.O. Box 160, Smithland, KY 42081 (270) 928-2172
Livingston County was founded 1798, named for Robert R. Livingston. Its seat, Smithland, sits at the confluence of the Ohio and Cumberland Rivers; its largest community is Ledbetter.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Kentucky has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code; probate is governed by KRS Chapter 395 (Administration of Estates), handled by the District Court in the county where the decedent resided (KRS 24A.120).
Dispensing with Administration – Kentucky’s simplified small-estate procedure, governed by KRS 395.450, 395.455, and 395.470. Available when the value of the personal estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $30,000, and the petitioner is a surviving spouse, adult child, or other qualifying heir/preferred creditor. The petitioner files a Petition to Dispense with Administration (Form AOC-830) with an affidavit listing assets, debts, and proposed distribution – no personal representative or full administration is required. Real estate is generally not covered by this procedure.
Regular (Full) Administration – for larger or more complex estates, the District Court appoints a personal representative (executor if named in a will, administrator if intestate), who gathers assets, pays debts, and distributes what remains under court oversight.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a Petition for Probate of Will and Appointment of Executor/Administrator (Form AOC-805) with the District Court in the county of residence.
If there’s a will, the court admits it to probate; it is then recorded with the county clerk (KRS 394.140).
The personal representative files an Inventory and Appraisement (Form AOC-841) of estate assets.
Notice to creditors is published; creditors generally have 6 months from appointment to file claims.
The personal representative pays valid debts, taxes, and expenses.
A Settlement of Estate (Form AOC-846) is filed, and the court closes the estate upon approval.
What it costs
Filing fees and publication costs are collected by the clerk and vary somewhat by county.
Kentucky does not require an attorney for probate, though it is commonly recommended, especially for formal administration.
Typical timelines: full probate generally takes 6-12 months; the creditor claims period is 6 months. Dispensing with Administration can move significantly faster once the estate qualifies.
Before distribution, a surviving spouse may petition for release of up to $2,500 from the estate as an exempt charge against estate property.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
102 Court St., Smithland, KY 42081
(270) 928-2133
SHERIFF / TAX COLLECTOR
102 Court St., Smithland, KY 42081
(270) 928-2133
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections, Marriage Licenses)
102 Court St., Smithland, KY 42081
(270) 928-2162
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
102 Court St., Smithland, KY 42081
(270) 928-2162
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Livingston County Health Dept
(270) 928-2131
KY CHFS — Pennyrile Region
(270) 825-3500
KY Medicaid
(855) 306-8959
Lourdes Hospital (Paducah)
lourdes.com (primary regional hospital)
Baptist Health Paducah
baptisthealthpaducah.com
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Livingston County Health Department – confirm current contact via chfs.ky.gov local health department directory.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Smithland
Population: 9,300
Area: 315 sq mi
Established: 1798
Public Records
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