The Supreme Court addressed three issues: whether the circuit court erred in modifying the original maintenance award; whether the failure to name an attorney with an enforceable attorney’s fees award is fatal to an appeal; and whether the attorney’s fee award was proper.Read More

Leslie Geralds v. Janie Geralds No. 2021-CA-0667-MR Jefferson Circuit Court Leslie and Janice Geralds negotiated a property settlement agreement through a collaborative divorce process.  The property settlement agreement awarded Mrs. Geralds 40.62% of Mr. Geralds’ retirement plan.  Several years following the entry of the decree and property settlement agreement, Mr. Geralds retired and signed a...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

Smith v. McGill After rendering a custody decision in favor of mother, the trial court ordered father to pay mother’s attorney’s fees pursuant to KRS 403.220. The trial court made its decision after considering the father’s annual  income of $32,000.00, the mother’s annual income of $41,000.00,  and the father’s  lack of candor and cooperation which...Read More

HARRY L. SEEGER V. SHARON LANHAM Unmarried mother filed an action to establish paternity and set child support. On May 24, 2012 the District Court set child support, and awarded pre-petition support. The District Court ordered that the child’s social security dependent benefits satisfied Father’s child support obligation, and ordered that the surplus dependent benefit...Read More

GRASCH V. GRASCH At the time of dissolution, Husband had an active law practice in which he had executed contingent-fee contracts with some clients. The trial court treated the contingent-fee contracts as a component of Husband’s income when received and not as property. The Court of Appeals agreed. The Supreme Court accepted discretionary review.Read More

JUDE WEBER V. THOMAS FRANCIS LAMBE The trial court awarded maintenance based on its finding that Wife’s reasonable living expenses totaled $5,800 monthly, including $1,440 of the children’s living expenses. Accordingly, Husband was ordered to pay maintenance. Husband was also ordered to pay an additional $15,000 for wife’s attorney fees based on an imbalance in...Read More

THOMAS K. STONE V. PENNIE DUBARRY (NOW DETORRES), ET AL. Wife signed an employment contract with attorney which gave him a lien on all of her assets. Parties subsequently entered into a Marital Settlement Agreement which provided Husband would buyout Wife’s interest and receive marital home. It further provided each would pay his or her...Read More

FINK V. FINK Husband filed an appeal of an award of attorney fees, but failed to name Wife’s attorney as a party. As the fee award was “ordered paid directly to the attorney, the attorney ‘may enforce the order in his own name’ and, thus is the real party in interest and a necessary and...Read More

SEEGER V. LANHAM Unmarried mother filed an action to establish paternity and set child support. On May 24, 2012 the District Court set child support, and awarded pre-Petition support. The District Court ordered that the child’s social security dependent benefits satisfied Father’s child support obligation, and ordered that the surplus dependent benefit could act as...Read More