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

Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Com. v. K.S. Questions Presented: Dependency, Neglect and Abuse. Due Process. KRS 31.110(1)(b). Funding for Expert Assistance. Considering whether expert assistance must be provided to indigent parties in dependency, neglect and abuse cases, KRS 31.110(1)(b) does not so entitle an indigent parent to state funded assistance. However, under certain...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

S.B. v. Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Com. Jefferson Family Court After cannabinoids and opiates were detected in Child’s system after birth, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (“the Cabinet”) filed a dependency, neglect, and abuse petition, resulting in Family Court ordering a treatment plan for her parents. Mother soon after died, and...Read More

McCain v. McCarty Daviess Family Court Parties were granted joint custody of their three minor children, and Father was required to pay $158.17 per week in child support and to maintain the children on his health insurance plan. Several years later, Mother moved to hold Father in contempt for failure to pay child support. At...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

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

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