Kentucky’s custody and parenting time statue does not favor a mother over a father. Instead, Kentucky courts apply a best interest standard to determine a parenting time schedule that is in the best interest of the child. There is a rebuttable presumption that equal parenting time is in the child’s best interest. While a father’s...Read More

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

In Kentucky, a child support order ends when a child turns eighteen, unless the child is still enrolled in high school, in which case, child support will continue until the end of the school year in which the child turns 19. In certain circumstances, such as when an adult child is disabled, child support may...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

Kentucky statute provides for grandparent visitation on quite limited grounds. In 2020, KRS 405.021(1)(b) and (c) were found to be unconstitutional, thus leaving intact only KRS 405.021(1)(a) and KRS 405.021(3) as the only potential avenues for a grandparent to obtain visitation. Pinto v. Robison, 607 S.W.3d 669, 671 (Ky. 2020). KRS 405.021(3) allows a grandparent...Read More

In Kentucky, child support is calculated using the statutory guidelines provided in KRS 403.212. These guidelines consider the monthly gross income of both parents, the number of children in common between the parents, and the costs of any childcare and healthcare expenses for the children. Although you and your co-worker have the same income, your...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

In Kentucky, child support is calculated using the statutory guidelines provided in KRS 403.212. These guidelines take into account the monthly gross income of both parents and the number of children requiring support. The base child support obligation is divided between each parent in proportion to their respective incomes. Unfortunately, the child support guidelines were...Read More

KRS 405.021(1)(b) and (c) of Kentucky’s grandparent visitation statute is violative of due process on its face because it permits a grandparent to prove a significant and viable relationship by a preponderance of the evidence rather than the clear and convincing standard required under Walker v. Blair. The statute also fails to accord the parent’s...Read More