MEMORANDUM Moore v. Moore Whitley Circuit Court Questions Presented: KRS 403.340(3). Modification of Visitation. Best Interests of the Children. Risk of Harm. The “Law of this Case” Doctrine. The issue here is whether the trial court erred in failing to make a specific written finding that it was in the best interests of the Movant’s...Read More

The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (“UCCJEA”), KRS 403.800 et seq., has provisions which permit nonparents to petition a court for custody. KRS 403.822 permits a “person acting as a parent” to petition a court for custody. Mullins v. Picklesimer, 317 S.W.3d 569, 575 (Ky. 2010). A “person acting as a parent” is...Read More

As part of a dissolution of marriage with children or a custody case, the court will determine the custody arrangement that is in the best interest of the children. A child’s legal custodian makes decisions regarding the child’s education, health care, and religious training. The parent that the court determines should be the legal custodian...Read More

Even while married, couples can have difficulty navigating the holiday season. Grandparents, step-grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and more all want face time during the holidays, especially when a little one is involved. A divorce or separation can add even more complications to the busy holiday season.Read More

Gonzalez v. Dooley Warren Circuit Court Before Wife petitioned for divorce, Husband and Child relocated to Kansas City, Kansas, where Husband’s parents lived. Wife contended that Husband did not consult her about the relocation but rather that Husband had sent her a text message that he was going to look for employment and would return...Read More

Carver v. Carver Boyd Circuit Court After a hearing on Father’s motion to modify custody from joint custody to sole custody, the Domestic Relations Commissioner (“DRC”) recommended that the parents continue to have joint custody; that Father be designated as the primary residential parent; and that Father make all decisions concerning Child’s medical and educational...Read More

In 2012, the Supreme Court of the United States limited third-party (often grandparent) visitation rights in Troxel v. Granville: A majority of the Court agreed that under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, parents have a fundamental liberty interest in the care, custody, and control of their children. And a majority concurred that...Read More

Judges should be particularly vigilant in guarding against those opinions when the medical experts that appeared in the FOC’s report do not themselves testify.Read More

The first holiday season after a divorce or separation, and those thereafter, can often be a time of conflict, stress, and confusion. Many parents and children feel distressed that the family traditions that they practiced for years now feel unfamiliar. Despite this, it is possible for co-parents and their children to have a happy holiday...Read More

How do I make sure my children are staying “Healthy at Home” when they have two households? Due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), Governor Andy Beshear has declared a state of emergency in the state of Kentucky and issued Executive Orders that require Kentuckians to stay “healthy at home” and restrict out-of-state...Read More