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

One question that frequently arises in the context of divorce is whether one spouse may claim rights to another spouse’s inheritance that was acquired either before or during the marriage. At divorce, property is classified as either marital or nonmarital. Nonmarital property is restored to each spouse as his or her separate property and marital...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

Mediation is the most common form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in Kentucky. In fact, many Judges in divorce and family law matters will require mediation before setting a final hearing or trial date. So, what is mediation? The American Bar Association describes mediation as “a private process where a neutral third person called a...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