The Court of Appeals held that the maintenance obligation ceasing once Wife “is of the age to receive Social Security” is arbitrary, because there was no evidence submitted regarding when that would occur or how much Wife would be eligible to receive.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

Parish v. Petter  Fayette Circuit Court After a banquet for a business fraternity to which Nathaniel Parish (“Parish”) and Kaitlynn Patrice Petter (“Petter”) belonged, Parish and Petter attended an after-party at an apartment complex. Petter then invited some people from the after-party to her home. At Petter’s home, she went into a room to retrieve...Read More

If you divorce your spouse, the parent that the court determines should be the legal custodian will generally have the authority to make medical decisions for your child.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

Andrews v. Andrews Fayette County Circuit Court The parties were divorced in 2015, and their settlement agreement was incorporated into the decree of dissolution. The settlement agreement provided that Husband would pay Wife $4,000 per month in maintenance. Husband unilaterally reduced his payments to $1,000 after a decrease in his pay. Wife filed a motion...Read More

Once you have decided to pursue a divorce from your spouse, the question may arise whether it matters if you are the first to file the divorce. The short answer is no, but there are some advantages and disadvantages to filing the petition. Being the spouse who files the petition means that you have the...Read More

Satterfield v. Satterfield http://opinions.kycourts.net/coa/2019-CA-000011.pdf The parties were divorced in 1998, with the decree of dissolution of marriage requiring Husband to execute a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (“QDRO”) within 30 days of the date of entry of the decree. Husband did not execute the QDRO, of which Wife did not become aware until 20 years later,...Read More

Clark v. Workman http://opinions.kycourts.net/coa/2019-CA-000805.pdf Father appealed Family Court’s child support order requiring him to pay child support to Mother. The Kentucky Court of Appeals first admonished the bar for noncompliance with the Rules of Appellate Procedure, describing the pervasiveness of the problem, which is continuously on the rise. Because Father’s brief violated at least 11...Read More

D.L.B. v. Commonwealth http://opinions.kycourts.net/coa/2019-CA-001168.pdf Father appealed a finding that he physically abused his son. The caption of Father’s notice of appeal listed “In re: [D.L.B., IV, a minor child” and “Commonwealth of Kentucky, Cabinet for Health and Family Services” as Petitioners. The body of the notice of appeal named Father as the appellant and “the...Read More